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Metal 

Plate  Printing 

A TREATISE  ON 

Printing  in  the  Lithographic  Manner 
from  Zinc  and  Aluminum  Plates 

Compiled , Edited  and  Elucidated  in  the 
Office  of  The  National  Lithographer 

<By 

WARREN  C.  BROWNE 
Price , $2.00 


New  York 

The  National  Lithographer 
1910 


COPYRIGHT  1909 
BY 

WARREN  C.  BROWNE 


Preface 


THE  constant  and  ever  increasing  demand  for  a text 
book  dealing  with  the  new  process  of  printing  in 
the  lithographic  manner  from  metal  plates  has  re- 
sulted in  the  production  of  this  volume.  In  it  is  covered 
every  point  from  the  preparing  of  the  plates  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  printed  sheet.  It  has  been  the  intention  of 
the  writer  to  make  the  entire  work  as  lucid  as  such  a tech- 
nical subject  could  be  made,  so  that  the  young  man  in 
the  business  as  well  as  the  older  ones  could  understand  it. 

In  compiling  this  work  the  experience  and  knowledge 
of  many  expert  workers  in  metal  plate  printing  has  been 
used,  and  the  writer  is  under  obligation  to  the.  many 
friends  in  the  trade  who  have  so  ably  and  willingly  given 
assistance  and  information  in  regard  to  technical  points 
which  were  necessarily  outside  his  own  observation  and 
experience.  He  has  also  had  recourse  to  many  books  on 
lithography  published  in  this  and  other  countries  and 
wherever  it  was  possible  to  adapt  foreign  methods  to  the 
conditions  in  this  country,  those  methods  have  been  elu- 
cidated and  will  be  found  in  this  volume.  Many  of  the 
very  best  parts  of  the  book  have  been  published  in  articles 
found  in  the.  columns  of  the  National  Lithographer  issued 
during  the  past  few  years — since  metal  plate  printing  has 
taken  a conspicuous  place  in  lithography. 

In  offering  this  book  to  the  trade  the  writer  has  no 
apologies  to  make.  He  believes  that  much  good  will 
come  of  its  study,  and  especially  recommends  it  to  those 
lithographers  who  are  contemplating  a change  from  stone 
to  metal  as  a printing  surface. 

Warren  C.  Browne. 

New  York  City,  1910. 


Index 


Page 

Preparing  the  Plates 13 

Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 32 

Preserving  the  Plates 44 

Zinc  and  Aluminum 48 

Alterations.... 51 

Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 53 

Proving 86 

Transfer  Paper 88 

Re-Transferring 89 

Re-Transferring  from  Type. . 92 

The  Offset  Press 96 

Illustrations  of  Offset  Presses  of  To-day 97-108 

The  Offset  Process 118 

Metal  Plate  Presswork 123 

Photo-Lithography 130 

Solutions,  Formulas,  Etc 153 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


How  The  Plates  Should  Be  Prepared, 
Grained,  Polished,  Made  Ready 
For  Use,  and  Used 


METAL  plate,  as  a substitute  for  stone,  is  now  such 
an  important  factor  in  lithography  that  the  printer 
who  is  progressive  and  wishes  to  consider  himself  thor- 
oughly efficient  must  possess  a fairly  comprehensive  and 
practical  knowledge  of  its  manipulation  and  possibilities. 

Every  up-to-date  lithographer  knows  that  since  the 
introduction  of  lithography,  more  than  a hundred  years 
ago,  much  time  and  many  experiments  have  been  made 
by  those  interested  in  the  art  to  discover  an  efficient  sub- 
stitute for  the  Solenhofen  stones.  The  great  Senefelder 
himself  was  the  first  to  look  about  for  a less  cumbersome 
material  to  work  with,  and  this  research  has  been  con- 
tinued up  to  the  present  time. 

There  have  been  many  setbacks  and  disappointments, 
but  by  a system  of  elimination,  after  a century  devoted 
to  experimenting,  the  present  day  metal  plate  has  been 
evolved,  and  there  is  no  question  about  its  permanency 
as  a factor  in  lithography. 


6 


Metal  Plate  Printing 

During  the  past  century  there  have  been  many  so- 
called  perfect  substitutes  for  the  lithographic  stones,  and 
we  have  witnessed  the  failure  of  most  of  these  new  print- 
ing surfaces.  These  failures,  however,  have  only  spurred 
lithographic  inventors  to  greater  activity,  and  within  the 
last  few  years  great  headway  has  been  made  in  the  effort 
to  devise  a method  to  supersede  stone. 

In  this  process  of  substitution  we  have  heard  a great 
deal  about  the  qualities  of  zinc  and  aluminum  plates,  and 
we  have  seen  a great  amount  of  good  work  obtained  from 
both.  Rapid  strides  have  been  made  in  the  manufacture, 
preparation  and  method  of  working  these  metal  plates,  so 
that  we  now  have  a printing  surface  which  is  equal  to  the 
best  Bavarian  stones,  and  that  fact  is  becoming  more  ap- 
parent every  day. 

Although  metal  plates  of  one  kind  or  another  have 
been  in  the  market  for  a great  many  years,  there  have 
been  periods  when  they  fell  into  disuse,  one  of  the  most 
objectionable  features  in  the  past  being  their  dark  color 
preventing  the  eye  from  distinguishing  clearly  the  sharp- 
ness of  the  work.  Chemical  science  tried  many  methods 
of  coating,  depositing,  and  crystallizing  matter  upon  the 
surface  of  a plate  in  order  to  obtain  a suitable  printing 
surface,  and  latterly  a plan  to  render  the  face  of  a plate 
more  porous  than  ever  before  was  evolved.  The  cheap- 
ness of  zinc  led  chemists  to  inject  into  the  outer  surface 
of  zinc  plates  a certain  crystalline  deposit,  which  in  pene- 
trating the  outer  crust  of  the  metal  left  a white  covering 
as  a fixed  part  of  the  plate,  which  equals  the  brightness 
of  aluminum.  This  treatment,  it  was  found,  prevented 
the  usual  oxidation,  it  opened  up  the  porosity  of  the  zinc, 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


7 


to  enable  the  transferred  lines  to  enter  deeper  into  its 
surface,  and  thus  hold  the  work  firmer.  This  increased 
porosity,  at  the  same  time,  holds  the  moisture  longer  in 
the  damping  process,  and  altogether  it  has  filled  a long 
felt  void  in  lithography. 

Still,  many  lithographers  have  held  to  aluminum  de- 
spite the  difference  in  the  cost,  the  bright,  silvery  color  of 
its  surface  appealing  strongly  to  them;  this  is  especially 
true  in  England,  where  the  advent  of  aluminum  was 
hailed  with  delight  by  so  many  in  the  trade,  and  where 
they  are  slow  to  take  up  new  processes. 

If  the  inexperienced  lithographer  is  wise  and  wants 
to  save  himself  time,  trouble  and  money,  he  will  start  in 
by  procuring  his  plates  from  some  dealer  who  makes  a 
specialty  of  preparing  them.  There  are  some,  however, 
who  prefer  purchasing  the  non-processed  plates  and  grain- 
ing them  to  suit  their  own  particular  ways;  but  for  the 
man  who  is  just  beginning  metal  plate  printing,  the  most 
inexpensive  way  is  to  procure  prepared  plates,  thereby 
obviating  the  trouble  and  cost  of  machinery  and  the  pos- 
sibility of  errors  which  will  be  costly  and  very  discour- 
aging. 

This  book,  the  compilation  of  which  includes  various 
methods  of  metal  plate  printing,  is  intended  for  the  small 
lithographic  shop  with  the  flat-bed  press,  as  well  as  for 
the  larger  houses  where  the  rotary  and  rubber  offset  press 
has  been  installed.  While  it  is  a fact  which  cannot  be 
successfully  refuted,  that  the  offset  press  is  revolutioniz- 
ing the  lithographic  trade,  it  is  likewise  true  that  for 
many  years  to  come  the  flat-bed  and  direct  printing  steam 
press  will  be  in  use,  and  to  them  the  metal  plate  is  rela- 


8 Metal  Plate  Printing 

lively  of  as  much  importance  as  it  is  to  the  establishments 
that  use  the  offset  process. 

There  has  lately  been  put  on  the  market  for  sale 
several  kinds  of  metal  plates,  both  prepared  and  unpre- 
pared, each  claiming  a superiority  over  the  other.  While 
it  is  not  the  province  of  the  publisher  of  this  book  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  any  particular  process,  the  assertion 
is  ventured  that  a carefully  prepared  metal  plate  is  far 
preferable  to  the  raw  plate,  for  reasons  which  will  be  set 
forth  in  detail  later,  and  the  statement  is  vouchsafed  that 
metal  plate  printing  has  come  to  stay.  Under  this  pro- 
cess the  chemicals  used  in  prepartion  are  incorporated 
with  the  metal,  so  that  transfers  are  put  down  not  on  any 
artificial  surface,  but  on  the  metal  itself.  Directions  for 
handling  unprepared  metal  are  also  included  in  this  work. 

Information  and  directions  given  by  various  experts 
for  transferring,  preparing  and  printing  are  incorporated 
in  this  book,  and  if  they  are  closely  perused  they  will  be 
found  to  be  simple  and  valuable.  Those  who  are  in  the 
trade  ought  to  take  every  opportunity  of  studying  this 
subject  deeply  and  testing  carefully  the  various  plates 
which  are  available  for  printing  purposes,  always  keeping 
in  mind  that  the  father  of  lithography  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  parent  method  and  spent  much  time  in  searching 
for  a suitable  substitute  for  stone. 

The  prejudice  which  has  hitherto  checked  the  pro- 
gress of  this  branch  of  lithography  was  not  altogether 
of  an  unreasonable  character,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  un- 
til recently  the  plates  themselves  were  far  from  reliable 
and  the  difficulties  resulting  from  them  were  a fruitful 
source  of  trouble  and  expense.  Practical  lithographers 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


9 


were  wont  to  look  askance  at  every  new  device  presented, 
and  the  many  failures  encountered  caused  them  to  adhere 
with  determined  loyalty  to  the  original  method,  and  cast 
aside  as  unworthy  any  and  all  substitutes. 

Time  has  made  many  changes,  however,  and,  while 
metal  as  a printing  surface,  is  even  yet  a comparatively 
new  factor  in  lithography,  beautiful  results  have  been 
given  us  by  that  medium,  and  it  behooves  every  lithog- 
rapher to  make  a close  study  of  the  newer  process  in 
metal  plate  printing. 

Just  as  the  human  race  has  passed  through  its  rude 
and  crude  stone  age  of  the  dim  and  distant  past,  on  to 
the  present  vitalizing  metallic  epoch  of  mankind,  so  like- 
wise has  the  craft  of  lithography  traversed  through  its 
cumbrous  quarry  period  of  the  unwieldy  litho  stone  and 
wooden  press,  on  to  that  of  the  modern,  mighty,  power- 
driven  rotary  and  offset  press  of  to-day,  their  printing 
surfaces  of  metal  plates  fast  usurping  the  old-time  stones. 

It  is  no  secret  that  zinc  was  the  pioneer  metal  that 
ventured  earliest  into  the  competing  field  of  the  litho- 
graph slab,  and  that  it  has  at  last  securely  established  its 
vast  importance  in  present  day  lithography.  All  this 
serves  to  prove  that  class  will  ultimately  triumph,  even 
though  it  has  had  to  pass  through  many  exasperating 
vicissitudes,  and  checkered  experiences  in  its  transit  to  the 
coveted  goal ; yet,  that  it  has  arrived  to  stay  is  being  uni- 
versally recognized  and  accepted. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  hark  back  momentarily  to  one  of 
those  past  reminiscences  of  a quarter  century  ago  when 
our  collective  conception  and  practical  knowledge  of  zinc 
as  a printing  surface  in  lithography  was  quite  on  dif- 


10 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


ferent  lines  to  that  which  prevails  to-day.  To  that  period 
when  the  unconquered  troubles  attendant  upon  zinc  at 
that  time  fell  upon  the  unlucky  printer,  “as  fast  and  as 
thick  as  snowflakes  in  a blizzard” ; and  to  when  he  was 
accustomed  to  breathe  those  terrifying  curses,  raked  up 
from  the  greatest  depths  of  his  second  nature,  upon  the 
perfidious  metal,  as  he  “bent  his  back  and  bowed  his 
head”  over  the  “wrecked”  ink  image  which  had  so  ruffled 
his  temper,  and  blasted  his  confidence  and  reputation. 

It  is  recalled  how  much  merriment  was  caused  by 
one  witty  Irishman  travailing  on  some  troublesome  plate, 
when  he  confidently  assured  those  near  him  that  “he  al- 
ways commenced  to  curse  zinc  early  in  the  morning  as 
he  was  putting  on  his  trousers,  and  that  he  never  ceased 
execrating  it  during  the  day  at  his  work,  and  continued 
the  malediction  in  the  leisure  of  his  evening,  as  he  blew 
the  froth  off  his  pot  of  ale” ; he  said  its  nature  was  so  bad 
that  it  had  to  be  spelt  with  a letter  right  deep  down  at 
the  bottom  of  the  alphabet. 

This  refers  to  the  period  when  ponderous  slabs  of 
zinc  were  used,  generally  half  an  inch  thick,  and  fully 
impregnated  with  impurities  of  other  metals  and  dross; 
and  when  an  effort  was  made  to  print  them  with  an 
almost  smooth  surface,  like  what  was  customary  with  the 
long  established  litho  stone. 

The  majority  of  litho  printers  have  been  working 
with  the  litho  stone  from  their  apprenticeship  till  the 
present  day,  and  it  it  not  surprising  that  in  relation  to  the 
use  of  stone  almost  every  possible  contingency  has  been 
provided  for,  while  with  metal  plates  a little  fresh  knowl- 
edge must  necessarily  be  acquired  before  the  workman 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


11 


can  claim  the  same  familiarity  of  manipulation  which  he 
may  feel  toward  the  parent  process.  This  is,  in  fact,  the 
point  upon  which  the  whole  question  usually  turns.  Good 
work  can  be  produced  from  metal  plates — of  that  there  is 
not  the  slightest  doubt — and  it  is  equally  certain  that  the 
advantages  offered  by  their  use  are  of  a substantial  and 
practical  character.  They  can,  in  the  first  place,  be  han- 
dled with  ease,  and  then  again  there  is  absolutely  no  fear 
of  breaking  them.  In  addition  they  are  less  expensive 
than  stone  and  require  less  storage  room. 

A grain  of  a finer  and  sharper  texture  can  be  im- 
parted to  the  metal  than  is  the  case  with  stone,  and  what 
is  even  of  greater  importance,  the  character  of  such  a 
grain  remains  unaffected  for  a considerable  time.  Sur- 
face inequalities  are  rarely  encountered  in  metal  printing 
surfaces  and  consequently  uniform  pressure  is  to  a cer- 
tain extent  guaranteed. 

Although  an  unprepared  metal  plate,  which  has  been 
carefully  polished  to  free,  it  from  every  trace  of  grease, 
can  be  used  for  lithographic  printing,  excellent  results 
are  obtained  from  the  plates  which  have  been  specially 
prepared,  and  in  many  houses  they  are  preferred  to  the 
plain  plates.  Many  of  these  prepared  plates  are  so  satis- 
factory that  half  million  runs  have  been  made  off  one 
plate  without  deterioration,  the  last  impression  being 
equal  to  the  first.  Any  lithographic  printer  of  ordinary 
intelligence  can,  by  following  simple  instructions,  do  any 
class  of  work  successfully,  whether  on  a flat-bed,  rotary 
or  offset  press. 

As  these  processed  plates  do  not  oxidize  either  from 
water  or  ink,  and  are  all  ready,  without  treatment,  for  the 


12  Metal  Plate  Printing 

artist  or  transferrer,  it  is  needless  to  dilate  upon  them 
further. 

As  there  are  a few  houses  who  prefer  purchasing 
plain  plates  and  treating  them  themselves,  some  methods 
dealing  with  this  treatment  are  here  given. 


Preparing  the  Plates 


WHILE  the  art  of  drawing  on  and  printing  from 
metal  plates  in  a lithographic  manner  is  by  no 
means  new,  yet,  as  the  percentage  of  lithographers  having 
had  success  in  the  manipulation  of  this  printing  surface  is 
small,  we  shall  proceed  to  give  some  information  apper- 
taining to  each  section  of  the  art,  trusting  that  our  text 
will  prove  of  value  to  all  those  interested  in  lithography. 

Of  the  many  makes  of  metal  plates  on  the  market, 
each  possesses  distinct  advantages  for  special  lines  of 
work.  Some  have  a chemically  prepared  surface,  others 
have  a mechanically  prepared  surface,  while  a few  are 
prepared  electrolytically. 

A slight  de-polishing  with  pumice  sand  and  a piece 
of  felt  may  impart  the  requisite  “tooth”  to  the  face 
of  the  unprepared  plate,  or  it  may  be  cleaned  with 
the  pumice  sand  and  felt  and  then  immersed  in  a hot 
bath  containing  36  ounces  of  water,  3^-ounce  of  alum, 
and  2 drams  of  nitric  acid.  This  liquid  should  be  kept 
in  constant  motion  over  the  face  of  the  plate  until  it  as- 
sumes an  even,  silvery-grey  appearance,  and  then  the 
plate  should  be  washed  thoroughly  with  a plentiful  sup- 
ply of  clean  water.  It  should  then  be  dried  quickly. 

The  plates  are  of  various  and  numerous  kinds,  hav- 
ing either  a grained  or  a smooth  surface,  and  are.  made 

13 


14 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


in  several  gauges.  The  stock  gauges  are  usually  25,  22, 
and  19,  BWG,  but  other  gauges  can,  of  course,  be  made 
to  meet  all  requirements. 

For  general  work  on  the  transfer  press,  it  is  custo- 
mary to  have  a fine  grained  surface,  and  plates  for  rotary, 
flat-bed  or  offset  machines  must  be  a little  coarser,  so 
that  they  may  be  the  better  enabled  to  hold  the  moisture. 

In  Europe  they  have  adopted  what  they  call  the 
“Continental  Graining”  method  for  treating  metal  plates 
and  the  larger  lithographic  firms  in  England  have  put  it 
into  use.  This  consists  of  a large-sized  plate  graining 
machine  fitted  with  a very  deep  box  recess  into  which  is 
arranged  a number  of  smaller  graining  boxes  of  a much 
shallower  description,  being  just  deep  enough  to  allow 
each  box  to  carry  a plate,  and  the  graining  marbles,  with 
just  enough  margin  to  spare  for  working  purposes. 

These  smaller  boxes  are  wedged  in  tight  in  tiers  in 
the  large  box,  one  above  the  other,  a dozen  being  worked 
at  the  same  time,  so  that  in  the  running  of  one  plate 
graining  machine,  as  many  as  a dozen  plates  are  being 
prepared  at  one  and  the  same  time ; an  important  consid- 
eration where  a number  of  small  litho  machines,  engaged 
on  short  runs,  have  to  be  kept  going. 

After  the  graining  of  the  plates  is  properly  com- 
pleted, they  are  well  washed  back  and  front,  to  remove 
any  adhering  pumice  paste  or  grains  of  the  powder; 
they  are  then  treated  to  an  “alum  acid  bath,”  which  ren- 
ders them  much  more  sensitive  to  grease,  and  also  ensures 
their  being  made  chemically  clean. 

This  treatment  is  known  as  the  “affinitising  bath,” 
because  the  function  performed  by  it  is  to  cause  the  plate 


Preparing  the  Plates 


15 


to  have  a greater  affinity,  or  susceptibility  to  the  greasy 
ink,  after  having  been  subjected  to  its  influence  in  this 
bathing  process. 

To  carry  this  operation  out  economically  on  a large 
scale,  a huge  upright  glazed  earthenware  tank  is  em- 
ployed, fitted  with  overhanging  supports,  from  which  the 
various  plates  may  be  suspended  in  the  bath ; or  they  may 
be  inserted  in  niched  grooves,  which  are  also  a separate 
fitment  of  this  bath. 

This  bathing  is  done  on  a smaller  scale  by  means  of 
horizontal  porcelain  dishes;  or  in  a more  economical 
manner  still  by  means  of  wooden  troughs,  pitch  lined,  or 
coated  with  acid-proof  resist  varnish,  such  as  asphaltum, 
or  a mixture  of  shellac  and  Brunswick  Black  varnishes. 
The  constituents  of  this  “affinitising”  bath  as  used  abroad 
are: 

Nitric  acid  6 fluid  ounces 

Powdered  alum pound 

Water i gallon 

The  alum  is  best  dissolved  in  warm  water,  as  it  is  so 
slowly  soluble  in  cold  water. 

The  plate  is  immersed  in  this  bath  for  a period  of 
about  5 minutes.  When  it  is  first  inserted  in  this  solu- 
tion, a dark  gray  deposit  quickly  forms  on  its  surface; 
this  is  sponged  off  so  as  to  enable  the  liquor  of  the  bath 
to  again  obtain  full  access  to  the  plate,  when  eventually  it 
will  assume  a pleasing  silver  gray  hue,  which  is  both  a 
nice  color  to  work  upon,  and  a true  indication  of  the  best 
condition  which  the  plate  should  attain  to  fit  it  for  the 
best  service  in  lithography. 


18 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


Many  establishments,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  in 
using  the  plates  that  are  not  prepared,  obtain  a fine  matt 
surface  by  graining  the  plate  either  by  hand  or  with  a 
graining  machine,  securing  a medium  or  coarse  deep 
grain  which  can  hardly  be  seen  by  the  naked  eye. 

The  principle  involved  in  the  graining  is  the  use  of 
a very  fine  powder,  harder  than  metal,  moved  cross-wise 
under  a certain  pressure  which  is  produced  by  a weight. 
The  surface  is  thus  given  scratches  which  differ  in  length, 
depth  and  number.  The  breadth  and  depth  of  these 
scratches  depends  upon  the  hardness  of  the  graining  ma- 
terial, the  amount  of  pressure,  on  the  shape  and  size  of 
the  graining  particles,  and  on  the  shapes  of  substances 
used  to  produce  the  pressure.  For  machine  graining  the 
materials  used  are : First,  the  finest  pumice  powder  which 
is  the  softest  graining  material ; second,  yellow  sand  as  for 
stones,  or  flint  sand  numbers  2 and  4 of  medium  powder ; 
third,  emery  in  No.  000  and  o,  which  are  very  hard  and 
grain  well;  and  fourth,  grit,  which  is  the  hardest  and 
gives  a coarse  grain. 

The  weighing  materials  may  be  marbles  of  either 
wood,  glass  or  earthenware,  the  diameter  of  which  should 
be  from  y2  in.  to  3 in.,  or  ordinary  pebbles,  which  can 
easily  be  obtained  from  any  river  bed.  These  should 
not  exceed  1 to  2 inches.  The  pieces  of  porcelain  or  rolls 
of  potato  shape,  which  have  been  introduced  lately,  of  the 
same  size  as  the  stones,  are  preferable. 

In  order  to  communicate  the  rubbing  motion  to  the 
graining  material  a graining  mill  is  used  consisting  of  a 
strong  water-tight  tray  which  rests  on  ball  bearings, 
which  is  set  shaking  by  an  eccentric.  The  shaking  mo- 


Preparing  the  Plates 


17 


tion  causes  a movement  of  the  graining  and  weighing 
materials.  For  smaller  size  plates  wooden  frames  are 
sometimes  used. 

When  the  graining  is  finished  the  plate  must  be  re- 
moved carefully — and  this  is  an  important  point,  as  if  not 
properly  carried  out  the  surface  will  be  scratched.  While 
the  machine  is  moving  the  weighing  materials  should  be 
brushed  away  from  one  corner,  and  this  firmly  grasped 
by  the  hand  and  the  plate  slowly  but  evenly  pulled  out. 
It  should  be  then  well  washed  in  running  water,  and 
dried  as  quickly  as  possible  before  a fire  or  with  an  elec- 
tric fan. 

To  grain  by  hand  the  plate  should  be  fastened  to  a 
flat  board,  a sufficient  quantity  of  coarse  sifted  sand,  with 
some  water  sprinkled  over  it,  and  a plain  iron  weight 
used,  or  a litho  stone.  Small  circular  strokes  should  be 
used  for  about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  It  must  then 
be  washed,  covered  with  fine  sand  of  120  to  150  mesh, 
plenty  of  water  used,  and  a bundle  of  No.  3 steel  wire 
used  for  graining.  After  about  ten  to  twenty  minutes, 
when  the  surface  should  show  a matt  white  surface  of 
regular  grain,  the  plate  should  be  again  washed  and  dried 
with  a clean  cloth. 

After  the  drawing  is  laid  down  on  the  plate  the  fol- 
lowing etching  solution  is  recommended : One  part  of  am- 
monium silico-flueride,  one  part  ammonium  nitrate,  dis- 
solved in  gum  water;  this  should  be  allowed  to  act  for 
about  two  minutes.  Instead  of  the  above  a mixture  of  one 
part  ammonium  biphosphate,  one  part  ammonium  nitrate, 
in  gum  water,  may  be  used.  These  give  a firm,  homo- 
geneous surface,  which  is  completely  insoluble  in  water. 


18  Metal  Plate  Printing 

Corrections  can,  however,  be  made  with  dilute  hydro- 
chloric acid. 

Until  recently  the  lithographic  craft  did  not  seem  to 
contemplate  the  possibility  of  enlisting  revolutionary 
methods  of  etching  treatment  as  now  evolved,  wherein 
electrical  action  as  well  as  chemical  ones  are  generated, 
in  the  so-called  etching  operations,  which  afford  the  most 
perfect  results.  Then  the  plate  would  oxidize  as  readily 
after  the  etching  operation  as  before  it.  Now  that  trou- 
ble has  been  almost  entirely  eliminated. 

In  order  to  better  comprehend  and  apportion  the 
relative  conditions  that  prevail  in  these  methods  of  mod- 
ern lithography,  we  must  first  briefly  allude  to  the  under- 
lying  principles  that  dominate  lithographic  printing  from 
stone;  which  will  afford  us  the  co-relative  cue  for  the 
metal. 

On  stone  we  speedily  recognize  that  two  entirely 
different  physical  and  chemical  conditions  have  to  be  at- 
tained, and  undisturbedly  maintained  on  its  surface,  dur- 
ing the  actual  printing  operations.  The  one  is  a fatty 
compound,  produced  and  preserved  by  means  of  the 
grease  laden  ink  of  the  design;  here  the  fatty  acids  con- 
tained in  the  transfer  inks,  possessing  a chemical  affinity 
for  the  lime  base,  of  which  the  stone  is  comprised,  form 
with  it  a grease  attracting  and  grease  retaining  allegiance, 
and  consequently  a water  resisting  one. 

We  have  now  to  account  for  the  other  remaining 
plain  portions  of  the  stone  surface;  these  also  need  defi- 
nite chemical  treatment;  in  this  case  with  a free  acid 
(nitric  solution),  which  decomposes  them,  producing  at 
the  same  time  physical  changes;  first  by  making  these 


Preparing  the  Plates 


19 


plain  places  of  a “rough,”  “matt”  and  “granular”  char- 
acter; which  condition  not  only  serves  the  purposes  of 
miniature  reservoirs  for  the  retention  of  the  essential 
damping  water,  but  also  affords  a “grip-hold”  for  the 
inking  rollers,  when  passing  over  the  stone;  and  this 
more  effectually  prevents  them  from  skidding  and  sliding 
over  the  face  of  the  work. 

At  the  same  time,  the  decomposition  of  these  parts 
by  the  acid  solution,  has  had  the  effect  of  raising  the 
work  slightly  into  relief. 

But  this  is  not  all,  as  we  have  not  yet  obtained  the 
full  requisite  chemical  conditions,  indispensable  for  these 
plain  parts  to  acquire.  This  can  only  be  done  by  what 
is  known  as  the  “gumming  operation,”  in  which  we  apply 
to  them  a syrupy  solution  of  “gum  arabic,”  this  on  its 
drying  and  oxidizing  with  these  uninked  portions  of  the 
stone,  forms  there  that  important  and  necessary  com- 
pound known  as  “gummate  of  calcium ;”  a compound  en- 
tirely different  in  character  and  condition  to  that  pos- 
sessed by  the  “fatty  calcium  compound ;”  being  in  fact  the 
direct  antithesis  to  it,  and  none  the  less  ignorable. 

Here,  then,  in  the  lithographic  stone  as  a printing 
medium,  we  have  a natural  substance,  upon  which  we  can 
produce  two  contrary  conditions : one  whose  natural  attri- 
butes are  an  “affinity”  or  “liking  for  water”  (which  is 
supplied  in  the  damping  operations),  and  which  affords 
those  portions  the  “power  to  reject  grease;”  in  the  other 
we  can  create  a “grease  attracting,”  and  “water  reject- 
ing” condition ; both  of  these  peculiar  qualities  being  ab- 
solutely essential  to  “planographic,”  or  “flat  surface 
printing,”  as  represented  by  the  lithographic  process. 


20 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


If  either  of  these  two  adverse  conditions  should  be 
faulty,  then  perfect  printing  cannot  be  effected;  as  for 
example,  assuming  that  the  image  has  been  perfectly 
drawn  upon  the  stone,  if  the  “lights”  become  soiled 
through  an  inefficient  gummate,  then  the  actual  print 
itself  becomes  degraded. 

Equally  so  then  is  the  same  resultant  conditions  vital 
in  the  metal  printing  process,  or  flat  surface  printing  in 
the  lithographic  manner  from  zinc  or  aluminum  plates. 

Commencing  first  with  zinc:  here  we  find  that  this 
metal  also  possesses  (like  the  litho  stone)  a strong  affinity 
for  fatty  bodies;  hence  greasy  transfer  inks  combine 
readily  with  it.  In  fact,  it  is  even  more  sensitive  and 
susceptible  to  grease,  than  the  stone,  so  far  as  superficial 
relations  are  involved;  but  at  the  same  time  it  does  not 
inherit  similar  internal  penetrative  facilities  as  does  the 
stone,  on  account  of  the  difference  existing  in  their  re- 
spective parasites ; specific  gravities,  and  molecular 
structure ; the  stone,  moreover,  being  a compound  body, 
whilst  the  zinc  is  a simple  elemental  one. 

Yet  as  we  have  before  intimated,  we  endeavor  to 
compensate  for  this  in  some  degree,  by  applying  a sup- 
plementary greasy  body  in  a fluid  form,  in  which  state 
it  is  capable  of  a more  piercing  and  penetrative  action  ; 
so  that  in  the  end  our  grease  compound  on  the  zinc 
plate  becomes  as  stably  formed  as  the  similar  corres- 
ponding compound  is  established  upon  the  stone,  not- 
withstanding the  difference  in  density  that  prevails  in 
these  two  bodies. 

This  is  one  of  the  factors  that  has  made  for  the 
modern  triumph  or  zinc. 


Preparing  the  Plates 


21 


But  equally  important,  and  which  long  has  proved 
to  be  the  most  difficult  to  attain  on  zinc,  is  the  opposing 
state,  that  of  the  aqueous  bearing  portions,  or  gummate 
of  the  metal;  where  it  is  essential  that  those  parts  shall 
be  “de-sensitized”  to  grease,  so  as  to  form  and  preserve 
the  perfect  “lights”  of  the  image. 

Instead  of  merely  eating  those  parts  slightly  away 
by  the  agency  of  a corrosive  acid,  and  leaving  soluble 
compounds  behind,  as  in  the  case  of  the  old  etching 
operations,  we  now,  in  the  latest  and  most  perfect  meth- 
ods, apply  a solution,  consisting  of  a mixture  of  various 
chemical  compounds,  which  generate  with  the  metal  itself 
a voltaic  action,  which  in,  and  through,  this  electrical 
influence,  produces  a new  surface  compound  or  layer,  in 
direct  chemical  union  with  the  zinc  itself. 

This  new  surface  being  the  most  perfect  grease  re- 
sisting medium  yet  devised  or  secured  from  a metal  sur- 
face. 

In  short  the  whole  of  the  plain  zinc  surface  that  has 
come  in  contact  with  this  fluid  has  now  become  trans- 
ferred from  the  simple  metallic  elemental  state  in  which 
it  originally  existed,  into  that  of  a new  compound  body, 
possessing  entirely  different  physical  and  chemical  attri- 
butes, inasmuch  as  these  parts  of  the  zinc  surface  have 
now  a predominant  affinity  and  preference  for  water,  and 
an  absolute  inability  to  hold  grease  when  moisture  is 
present  and  applied  to  them,  in  contradistinction  to  that 
state  in  which,  immediately  prior  to  this  treatment,  they 
had  absolute  preference  and  susceptibility  for. 

All  this  remarkable  change  being  accomplished  with- 
out any  loss  in  the  volume  of  the  metal,  even  though  the 


22  Metal  Plate  Printing 

so-called  etching  operation  should  have  been  prolonged 
inordinately. 

Whereas  in  the  old  time  method,  when  zinc  was 
struggling  for  a place  in  lithography,  a prolonged  etching 
spelled  ruin  to  the  finer  parts  of  the  work,  such  as  hair 
lines  and  delicate  stipple,  owing  to  the  undercutting  ac- 
tion of  the  acid  creeping  under  the  lines,  and  thus  under- 
mining the  fine  work. 

It  may  further  be  affirmed  that  with  the  most  perfect 
etching  method,  a more  prolonged  treatment  with  the 
etcher  is  often  of  an  advantageous  nature,  especially 
when  an  excessively  greasy  quality  and  brand  of  ink  is 
being  used,  as  is  sometimes  the  case ; here  the  extra  etch- 
ing operation  appears  to  carry  the  grease  resistive  prop- 
erties to  a lower  strata  of  the  metal,  and  thus  render  it 
much  longer  immune  to  grease  encroachments,  if  the 
natural  attrition  of  the  plate  during  work  should  have 
thus  impaired  its  original  upper  surface  layer. 

This  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  greater  speed  of 
the  rotary  machines,  and  the  rubber  offset  presses,  has 
advanced  the  cause  for  metal  as  a printing  surface  in 
lithography,  not  only  to  a par  with  the  old  time  stone, 
but  legions  beyond  it  for  productivity,  security,  economy 
and  efficiency. 

Aside  from  the  proprietary  processes  protected  by 
patents,  it  will  no  doubt  prove  of  great  interest  to  des- 
cribe a few  European  methods  for  printing,  lithographi- 
cally, from  metal,  both  zinc  and  aluminum. 

Commencing  with  new,  plain  uncoated  sheets  of  the 
best  Silesian  zinc,  of  the  purest  quality,  plates  of  a thick- 
ness registering  from  19  to  22  BWG  are  selected  for 


Preparing  the  Plates 


23 


machine  use,  both  flat-bed  and  rotary.  These  thicknesses 
of  plate  enable  them  to  be  bedded  down  to  their  sup- 
ports perfectly  taut  and  without  buckling. 

For  the  hand  press,  and  for  originals,  thinner  plates 
than  these  are  employed,  usually  ones  ranging  from  29 
to  25  BWG,  are  the  gauge  sizes  usually  used. 

Although  there  are  large  deposits  of  zinc  ore  located 
in  the  Mendip  Hills  in  Somersetshire,  England,  where  it 
has  long  been  extensively  mined,  yet  despite  that,  a large 
part  of  the  zinc  plates  of  lithographic  commerce,  for  use 
in  the  British  Isles,  are  purchased  chiefly  from  Conti- 
nental sources,  Siberia  and  Belgium,  and  some  from  the 
United  States ; the  overwhelming  preponderance  of  them, 
however,  come  from  Siberia.  These  plates  are  ordinarily 
procured  through  the  regular  supply  houses,  and  are 
then  generally  bought  surface  grained,  ready  for  imme- 
diate use.  There  are  some  firms,  however,  who  obtain 
them  in  the  bare,  unprepared  state  as  sent  out  from  the 
mill,  with  the  hard,  scaly,  outer  skin  of  the  metal  still 
adhering  to  them ; as  produced  in  the  rigid  rolling  opera- 
tions of  manufacture.  In  this  case  additional  tasks  are 
imposed  upon  the  lithographer,  who  has  to  first  see  to  the 
removal  of  this  outer  “skin,”  and  to  selecting  the  best 
face  of  the  plate  for  the  printing  surface  proper. 

It  has  been  found  from  experience,  that  one  face 
of  the  plate  is  purer  and  freer  from  defects  than  the 
other.  This  is  due  in  large  measure  to  tiny  specks  of 
iron  being  taken  up  during  the  heated  manufacturing 
process,  in  which,  due  to  the  specific  gravity  of  these  two 
metals  being  different,  the  zinc  being  the  heaviest,  will 
fall  to  the  bottom,  while  the  lighter  metal  will  remain  on 
the  top. 


24 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


If,  therefore,  the  new  plate  is  first  tested  on  both 
sides,  the  best  face  is  easily  detected,  and  at  once  reserved 
for  the  printing  surface.  This  is  done  by  mixing  one 
part  of  commercial  nitric  acid  with  ten  parts  of  water, 
and  then  applying  some  of  this  over  a part  of  each  face 
of  the  plate,  either  by  means  of  a sponge  or  a pad  of  cot- 
ton wool. 

If  as  a result  of  this  treatment  one  side  reveals  a 
number  of  small,  black  specks  and  streaks,  or  dark  circle 
markings,  this  will  be  the  inferior  side  of  the  plate,  and 
should  be  destined  to  always  form  the  under  side  for 
working ; the  other  side  of  course,  being  the  one  selected 
for  the  actual  printing  surface. 

This  chosen  surface  is  then  lightly  polished  over 
with  a flat,  smooth  block  of  “Snake  Stone”  (water  of 
Ayr  stone) , in  order  to  remove  any  dross  or  shell. 

Then  next  the  extreme  clamp  edges  of  the  plate, 
both  “gripper”  and  “rear”,  are  bent  right  over  in  a lap  to 
the  extent  of  about  a quarter  of  an  inch,  so  as  to  form 
a thicker  wedge-like  edge,  which  serves  as  an  additional 
grip  hold  for  the  clamps  on  the  plate  when  backing-up, 
and  which  is  consequently  a double  security  against  them 
slipping,  or  “dragging  out,”  during  both  “tightening 
up,”  and  printing  operations. 

The  correct  bend  of  the  gripper  edges  of  the 
plate  is  next  made,  some  establishments  using  a spe- 
cial “vise  mould”  for  this  purpose,  while  others  sim- 
ply fix  one  of  the  plate  edges  in  the  grip-bars  of  a 
plate  bed,  and  then  by  means  of  a long,  smooth  bat- 
ten of  wood,  laid  in  contact  with  this  edge  of  the 
plate  which  is  then  struck  a smart  blow  with  a 


Preparing  the  Plates 


25 


wooden  mallet,  at  the  same  time  as  the  zinc  plate  is 
being  bent  down  bodily  to  the  plate  bed. 

This  plate-grip  bend  when  once  formed,  need 
never  be  straightened  out  again,  if  proper  provision  is 
made  for  its  protection,  as  the  repeated  bending  and 
restraightening  of  this  defect  soon  causes  the  metal  in 
this  part  to  crack  and  break  away,  which  then  necessi- 
tates the  plate  being  cut  down  for  a smaller  size. 

Some  few  old  fashioned  firms,  however,  may  still 
be  found,  who  adhere  to  this  injurious  practice  of  re- 
bending the  grip-edges  of  the  plate  each  time  they  have 
to  re-grain  and  re-transfer  upon  them  for  fresh  jobs. 

The  general  run  of  firms,  however,  provide  bevel 
edged  wood  supports  in  the  bed  of  the  graining  ma- 
chine, and  also  bevel  edged  iron  plates  for  the  trans- 
ferring presses ; so  that  once  the  plate  is  bent  at  the 
clamp  edges  to  suit  either  the  flat  bed  machine  or  the 
rotary  there  is  no  need  to  resort  to  the  re-straightening, 
or  flattening  out  process  again  each  time  a plate  is  re- 
used for  a fresh  job,  as  everything  is  adapted  to  suit 
the  requirements  of  the  clamp  curve  during  all  the 
necessary  phases  of  manipulation,  contingent  upon  the 
preparation  of  a plate. 

Now,  as  to  the  graining  of  the  plate,  lithographers 
using  metal  soon  learn  the  exceeding  importance  of 
this  branch  of  the  business,  as,  if  a plate  is  grained  too 
feebly,  then  it  has  not  the  capacity  to  retain  much 
moisture  upon  the  surface,  and  consequently  will 
sooner  soil  with  the  printing  ink;  this  condition  also 
necessitates  a larger  volume  of  damping  water  being 
applied  to  maintain  the  purity  of  the  lights ; this  nat- 


26 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


urally  reacts  upon  the  brilliance  of  the  ink,  dulling  it 
and  overloading  it  with  moisture,  which  reflects  itself 
in  the  greyness  of  the  print.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
transferrer  favors  a fine,  delicate  grain,  because  it  is 
easier  to  roll  up  the  work,  as  well  as  to  run  it  down 
firm  and  solid,  than  if  the  grain  of  the  plate  was  more 
“rasping”  and  “keen.” 

This  perversity  of  conditions  frequently  prompts  a 
slight  clashing  of  interests  between  the  transferring 
end  of  the  business,  and  the  jnachine  room  end. 

The  machine  man  unhesitatingly  urges  the  more 
decided  graining  of  the  plate,  so  that  the  tiny  excava- 
tions of  the  grain  will  form  a more  perfect  reservoir 
for  the  retention  of  the  damping  water  during  printing. 
While  the  transferrer  is  partial  to  the  more  delicate 
graining  of  the  plate,  so  that  the  fine  lines  of  his  trans- 
fer and  his  solids  will  be  brought  under  more  uniform 
and  accommodating  conditions;  thus  enabling  him  to 
send  forward  an  irreproachable  transfer  with  smart  ex- 
pedition. 

The  most  common  graining  material  in  use  in 
Europe  is  a medium  texture  pumice  powder.  This 
serves  for  the  general  run  of  work.  For  producing  a 
coarser  grain  for  poster  work,  flint  sand  and  coarse 
glass  powder  are  both  used.  Whilst  emery  powder, 
fine  glass  powder  and  carborundum  powder  are  each 
employed  for  other  range  and  classes  of  work. 

For  map  printing,  the  plates  are  sometimes 
grained  with  the  sand  blast,  in  which  fine  Belgian  sand 
is  used  for  the  graining. 


Preparing  the  Plates 


27 


Hitherto  wooden  balls  were  generally  employed 
with  the  graining  machines,  but  now  they  are  being 
rapidly  displaced  by  the  porcelain  balls,  which  are 
heavier,  cheaper  and  wear  better;  not  being  so  prone  to 
form  flat  sides  on  them,  as  is  the  custom  with  the  maple- 
wood  marbles. 

Another  good  feature  in  connection  with  them  is, 
that  they  do  not  adhere  together  in  small  clusters,  as 
the  wooden  balls  do  when  flats  have^  been  worn  upon 
them,  as  the  porcelain  marbles  wear  down  in  a rotund 
manner,  instead  of  angular,  which  is  the  drawback  with 
the  wooden  marbles. 

The  English  have  a method  of  graining  the  plate 
with  dry  powder  only  using  no  water  whatever,  during 
graining  operations.  This  plan,  however,  takes  a little 
longer  time  to  attain  the  desired  granular  matt  effect 
of  the  plate  surface,  yet  the  grain  so  attained  is  pre- 
ferred by  some. 

Whichever  method  is  adopted,  the  grain  can  be 
slightly  subdued,  if  the  transferrer  in  his  judgment 
considers  it  too  crisp ; this  is  done  by  going  all  over  the 
plate  with  a felt  covered  block  and  some  finer  pumice 
powder,  by  supplementary  hand  method  for  two  or 
three  minutes,  but  to  leave  the  grain  as  produced  by 
the  machine  is  preferred  by  most  well  established 
houses,  although  some  transferrers  consider  the  plate 
is  not  complete  till  it  receives  this  finishing  touch  by 
hand. 

In  the  purchasing  of  non-processed  plates,  it  is  of- 
ten advised  to  obtain  the  largest  sizes,  and  cut  the 
sheets  down  to  suit  the  work  in  hand.  To  prevent  the 


28 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


plates  from  being  bent  or  cockled,  great  care  should  be 
exercised  in  cutting  them  down.  They  must  be  kept 
perfectly  flat,  as  any  unevenness  of  surface  is  sure  to 
interfere  with  their  successful  working. 

There  are  several  very  good  methods  of  shorten- 
ing, or  cutting  down,  the  plates.  An  ordinary  book- 
binder’s card-cutting  machine  is  very  useful  for  this 
purpose,  as  it  allows  the  plate  to  lie  perfectly  flat  and 
be  held  securely.  If  this  cannot  be  obtained,  or  is  not 
preferred,  a fine,  well  sharpened  saw  will  answer  the 
purpose.  After  the  plate  is  cut  the  burr  must  be  re- 
moved from  the  edges  with  a file  and  the  corners  can 
be  snipped  or  rounded  off.  When  a new  batch  of  plates 
is  delivered,  they  should  first  be  submitted  to  a thor- 
ough examination  before  putting  into  use.  If  this  ex- 
amination is  properly  carried  out,  much  time  and  trou- 
ble will  be  saved  in  the  future. 

The  plates,  when  delivered  to  the  printer,  generally 
have  a perfectly  even  surface  of  a dull,  silvery  color, 
and  are  free  from  all  marks  and  blemishes.  A serious 
obstacle  to  perfect  work  is  the  presence  of  oxide  on 
some  of  the  metal  plates.  This  sometimes  appears  on  the 
surface  of  the  plates  in  the  form  of  white  powder,  and 
which  can  be  detected  by  rubbing  the  plate  with 
cloth.  When  plates  are  discovered  to  have  an  excess 
of  oxide  on  the  surface,  or  when  they  are  stained,  they 
should  be  returned  immediately  to  the  manufacturer  as 
defective. 

After  the  plates  have  been  selected  for  use,  those 
not  immediately  required  are  usually  wrapped  care- 
fully in  clean  paper  and  stored  in  a dry  closet  or  the 
vault  of  a safe,  or  some  similar  receptacle. 


Preparing  the  Plates 


29 


There  is  an  excellent  method  adopted  by  some  es- 
tablishments upon  receipt  of  new  plates  which  is  worth 
mentioning.  Immediately  upon  their  arrival,  they  are 
unpacked  to  prevent  oxidation  owing  to  changes  in 
the  temperature.  They  are  then  laid  out  singly  and, 
when  they  have  assumed  the  temperature  of  the  room, 
the  prepared  side  of  the  plate  is  rubbed  over  with 
French  chalk,  and  each  plate  is  then  wrapped  carefully 
and  separately,  in  clean,  dry  paper,  and  laid  away  in  a 
dry  place  until  required  for  use. 

By  this  same  method,  when  the  time  arrives  for  the 
design  to  be  made  upon  the  plate,  the  prepared  side  is 
wiped  with  a wet  cloth  to  remove  the  French  chalk, 
and  then  dried  with  a clean  cloth  that  has  been  charged 
with  a small  quantity  of  oil  of  turpentine,  the  prepared 
surface  is  briskly  rubbed  to  remove  all  traces  of  grease 
and  finger-marks.  It  is  again  rubbed  with  another 
cloth  charged  with  a small  quantity  of  benzine. 

This  cleaning  is  followed  by  laying  the  plate  face 
upwards  in  a large  shallow  earthenware  dish,  such  as 
used  by  photographers,  and  flowing  over  it  a solution 
consisting  of  one  quart  of  either  rain  or  distilled  water, 
to  one  pound  of  citric  acid  of  pure  crystals.  The  bath 
must  be  kept  in  motion,  and  the  surface  of  the  plate 
must  be  rubbed  frequently  with  a pad  of  raw  cotton,  by 
which  means  the  dissolved  metal  and  impurities  are 
removed.  After  remaining  in  this  solution  for  three  or 
four  minutes,  the  plate  should  present  a dull,  even  sur- 
face, but  if  stains  appear  it  must  again  be  bathed  in  the 
acid  solution  until  they  have  been  removed. 


30 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


When  the  plate  has  been  treated  in  this  manner  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  printer,  it  is  thoroughly  washed 
with  clean  water  and  rubbed  with  a cloth  to  remove 
any  trace  of  acid  that  may  remain.  In  following  this 
formula  it  is  well  to  give  the  plate  a final  rinse  with 
water  and  dry  it  rapidly  to  prevent  further  oxidizing. 
The  plate  is  then  clean,  and  in  condition  for  the  artist 
or  printer. 

The  foregoing  may  seem  to  be  a somewhat  elabo- 
rate method  of  cleansing,  but  it  is  a simple  process  if 
systematically  carried  out,  and  is  sure  to  repay  the  ex- 
tra time  spent  upon  it.  The  trouble  caused  by  greasy 
patches,  which  sometimes  make  their  appearance  when 
rolling  up  a plate,  is  entirely  removed  when  this  pre- 
liminary cleaning  is  carried  through.  Likewise  the  dif- 
ficulty occasionally  experienced  in  endeavoring  to  make 
a design  hold  firmly  to  a plate  that  has  had  a slightly 
oxidized  surface,  is  entirely  avoided.  The  trouble 
caused  by  oxide  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  work- 
shop, and  one  that  is  not  sufficiently  understood  by  the 
members  of  the  craft.  If  it  was  the  quality  of  the  im- 
pressions obtained  would  be  considerably  improved. 

An  important  point  is  to  have  clean  materials  to 
work  with.  The  various  cloths  and  sponges  used 
should  be  periodically  washed  in  boiling  water,  and 
when  not  in  use  should  be  kept  separate  for  their  va- 
rious special  uses.  In  every  branch  of  lithography  it  is 
essential  to  have  clean  surroundings,  but  nowhere  do 
we  find  it  more  so  than  in  the  manipulation  of  metal 
plates ; in  fact,  the  secret  of  the  whole  process  seems  to 
be  wrapped  up  in  the  one  word — Cleanliness. 


Preparing  the  Plates 


31 


The  art  of  drawing  upon  metal  differs  but  little 
from  the  method  of  working  upon  stone,  and  it  is  only- 
necessary  to  make  oifew  general  remarks  upon  this  im- 
portant branch  of  lithography. 


1 a. 

Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 


AFTER  the  metal  plate  has  been  prepared  and 
passed  into  the  artists,  department,  the  first  duty 
of  the  artist  upon  receipt  of  the  plate  is  to  examine  it 
carefully  to  test  its  suitability  for  the  work  in  hand.  If 
any  blemishes  are  present,  the  artist  should  have  them 
eliminated.  He  should  be  careful  at  all  times  in  hand- 
ling the  plates,  and  so  avoid  the  trouble  caused  by  the 
rolling  up  of  finger  marks.  Thoroughly  clean  plates 
are  very  sensitive  and  consequently  should  be  handled 
with  the  greatest  care.  An  excellent  plan  in  use  by 
some  artists,  is  to  obtain  a sheet  of  paper  the  exact 
size  of  the  plate ; a rough  outline  is  made  of  the  size  of 
the  work  to  be  drawn.  This  is  then  cut  awTay,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  sheet  is  gummed  onto  the  face  of  the 
metal.  When  in  position,  the  outer  margins  of  the 
plate,  that  are  not  to  receive  the  work,  are  fully  pro- 
tected, and  the  plate  can  be  handled  with  much  free- 
dom, so  that  it  amply  repays  for  the  little  time  spent 
upon  it  in  making  and  fixing  the  mask. 

The  next  thing  to  consider  is  the  most  suitable  sur- 
face to  lay  the  plate  upon.  Perhaps  the  most  con- 
venient and  suitable  table  for  the  artist  to  use  is  an  or- 
dinary lithographic  stone.  One  that  is  slightly  rough- 
ened will  be  best,  as  it  will  prevent  the  plate  from 

32 


Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 


33 


slipping  about  while  being  drawn  upon.  Another  ad- 
vantage to  be  gained  from  using  a stone  is  that  in 
cold  weather  the  stone  can  be  occasionally  warmed  which 
will  assist  the  flow  of  ink,  and  make  the  crayon  work 
more  freely  than  it  otherwise  would. 

The  ink  used  should  be  a little  stronger  than  for 
stone  work.  All  solids  should  be  filled  in  as  full  as  pos- 
sible, and  should  present  a good  black  appearance. 

If  the  plate  is  a grained  one,  the  outlines  and  solid 
parts  of  the  design  should  first  be  filled  in,  which  will 
give  a better  idea  of  the  amount  of  tone  required.  Care 
should  be  taken  that  the  gumming-out  solution  is  not  ap- 
plied too  thickly  to  those  parts  nearest  to  the  rubbed-in 
tints : the  reason  is  obvious. 

We  may  here  mention  that,  should  the  artist  have  had 
no  previous  experience  with  metal  it  would  be  advisable 
to  obtain  a small  grained  plate  and  try  the  effect  of  his 
various  chalks  before  proceeding  with  the  work  in  hand- 
In  this  manner  he  will  become  familiar  with  the  varieties 
of  grain  obtained,  as  well  as  the  power  of  the  materials 
he  is  in  the  habit  of  using. 

For  chalk  drawings  it  is  advisable  to  use  the  harder 
crayons  instead  of  the  soft.  The  latter  should  only  be 
used  on  the  heavy  parts  of  the  design. 

Scoring  and  scraping  of  the  plate  should  be  entirely 
avoided,  because  such  lines  or  scratches  are  left  with  a 
burr  on  their  edges,  which  take  the  ink  and  gradually  fill 
in  as  the  printing  is  proceeded  with. 

When  the  drawing  is  completed  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  artist,  it  must  be  thoroughly  dusted  with  French 
chalk,  well  rubbed  in,  and  the  work  is  ready  for  etching. 


34 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


The  important  operation  of  etching  an  original  draw- 
ing is  one  that  is  best  executed  by  the  artist  who  produced 
it.  He  has  the  best  knowledge  of  the  quality  of  the  work 
upon  the  plate,  and  understands  which  parts  should  re- 
ceive the  weaker  and  which  the  stronger  etching.  He  also 
avoids  the  possibility  of  the  design  becoming  injured  by 
a workman  who  may  have  scant  knowledge  of  the  work 
in  hand. 

The  acid  solution  to  be  used  for  this  purpose  is  some- 
what different  from  that  for  the  stone.  A good  solution 
consists  of: 

Nut-gall  solution io  ozs. 

Gum  arabic  solution  (thickness  of 

cream) 20  ozs. 

Phosphoric  acid J4  oz. 

Nitric  acid oz. 

The  strength  of  this  acid  should  be  altered  to  suit 
the  work  on  the  plate.  If  the  design  consists  of  many  fine 
lines  and  stipples,  add  more  gum  solution.  If  it  is  re- 
quired stronger,  add  phosphoric  acid.  The  nut-gall  solu- 
tion can  be  made  in  the  following  manner : Three  ounces 
of  nut-galls  are  steeped  in  one  quart  of  water  for  twen- 
ty-four hours-  They  are  then  boiled  until  soft,  when 
they  are  crushed  and  strained  through  a piece  of  muslin. 
A few  drops  of  carbolic  acid  should  be  added  to  prevent 
the  formation  of  mold. 

The  etching  of  the  design  is  accomplished  as  follows : 
Lay  the  plate  upon  a sheet  of  clean  paper  a few  inches 
larger  than  the  plate.  Pour  a quantity  of  the  etching 
solution  into  a flat  dish,  take  a broad  camel-hair  etching 
brush,  and  dip  into  the  solution  and  coat  the  plate  evenly. 


Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 


35 


First  cover  the  plate  evenly,  moving  the  brush  from  left 
to  right,  and  then  from  top  to  the  bottom.  When  this  has 
been  properly  accomplished,  the  plate  should  have  an  even 
covering  of  gum  and  acid  upon  its  surface.  It  can  be 
more  evenly  distributed  by  rubbing  with  the  open  hand, 
which  entirely  removes  any  streaks  that  sometimes  occur 
when  a brush  is  used. 

Another  method  of  etching  that  is  recommended  for 
high-class  work  is  to  place  the  plate  in  a flat,  shallow  dish 
and  allow  the  etching  solution  to  flow  over  its  surface.  By 
this  means  the  danger  is  entirely  avoided  of  injuring  the 
drawing  by  the  mechanical  application  of  etching  solu- 
tion. When,  in  the  opinion  of  the  artist,  the  plate  has 
been  sufficiently  etched,  it  must  be  stood  up  on  edge  and 
allowed  to  dry.  The  drying  can  be  assisted  by  fanning 
the  surface,  but  heat  must  not  be  used,  or  complications 
are  likely  to  arise  owing  to  the  ink  spreading  or  the  gum 
drying  too  hard. 

When  the  etching  solution  has  thoroughly  dried,  the 
plate  is  in  a fit  condition  to  be  handed  over  to  the  trans- 
ferrer for  rolling  up  and  proving. 

It  is  well  to  repeat  that  almost  every  description  of 
lithography  can  be  executed  from  metal  plates.  The  qual- 
ity of  the  work  obtained  depends  not  so  much  upon  the 
quality  of  the  metal  used  as  upon  the  care  of  the  artist 
and  printer  through  whose  hands  it  passes. 

Before  going  into  further  details  of  the  metal  plate 
process,  it  might  be  well  to  again  point  out  to  the  print- 
ers who  wish  to  be  up  to  the  times,  the  chief  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  having  a knowledge  of  this  system. 
The  fact  that  there  is  money  in  it  is  at  once  apparent, 


36 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


and,  as  experience  of  lithographic  management  has 
proved,  the  versatile  craftsman  knows  his  value  in  the 
workshop,  while  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  yet  to  find 
the  employer  who  is  not  ready  to  appreciate,  in  a sub- 
stantial manner,  the  superior  all-around  skill  and  knowl- 
edge of  any  workman  who  may  be  in  his  service.  It  is, 
therefore,  of  the  utmost  importance  to  all  lithographers 
who  have  the  interest  of  their  trade  at  heart  to  study  care- 
fully the  several  methods  and  many  little  wrinkles  for 
successfully  working  metal  plates  set  forth  in  this  vol- 
ume. 

In  Germany,  where  unprepared  metal  plates  are  used 
to  a large  extent,  the  plate  is  first  cleaned  with  saltpetre 
lye,  after  which  it  is  polished  with  pumice  powder  and 
rubbed  with  felt  in  cross-forming  movements.  Then  a 
solution  of  acetic  acid  and  water  is  poured  upon  the  plate. 
Sometimes  a black  surface  appears  and  this  should  be 
rubbed  with  flannel,  if  this  method  is  tried.  It  is  also 
well  to  rub  the  plate  with  the  acetic  acid  solution  regu- 
larly and  lightly  until  it  receives  a whitish-gray  appear- 
ance. Citric  acid  is  sometimes  used  for  this  purpose.  The 
plate,  now  of  a smoke  color,  is  ready  to  receive  the  trans- 
fer and  particular  attention  should  be  taken  to  prevent 
fingermarks,  etc.  After  the  placing  of  the  transfer,  the 
plate  must  be  freed  from  all  uncleanliness  by  the  liberal 
use  of  clear  water,  and  afterwards  gummed  with  thin  gum 
arabic.  Here,  too,  the  greatest  caution  is  necessary,  be- 
cause, after  the  drying  of  the  gum,  the  plate  “over  the 
gum”  is  to  be  cleaned  with  washing  off  tincture,  and  then 
rolled  up  with  one-third  transfer  ink  and  two-thirds  pen 
ink.  When  the  plate  is  blacked  equally  it  is  for  the 


Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 


37 


first  time  wiped  with  water,  whereby  the  gum  dissolves 
and  the  drawing,  well-covered  and  sharp,  remains.  The 
printing  plate  so  obtained  should  be  carefully  powdered 
with  talc  and  colophony,  or  rosin,  and  etched  for  the 
first  time.  The  etching  must  be  performed  with  the 
greatest  judgment  and  for  this  several  minutes  of  time 
is  required. 

To  secure  a good  etching,  two  stock  solutions  must 
be  made;  first,  a thick  gum  arabic  solution,  which  must 
be  strained  through  fine  gauze,  by  which  means  all  im- 
purities are  cleared  off ; second,  a cold  saturated  alum  so- 
lution must  be  made,  in  which  so  much  alum  is  dissolved 
that  it  leaves  a surplus  at  the  bottom  of  the  bottle.  Sul- 
phuric acid  clay  may  also  be  used  for  this  purpose.  Sev- 
enty-five parts  of  gum  and  twenty-five  parts  of  alum  so- 
lution are  well  mixed,  and  3 to  5 parts  of  nitric  acid  are 
added  to  it.  This  mixture  is  left  to  stand  for  some  hours 
and  then  it  is  fit  for  use. 

The  etching  is  performed  as  follows:  The  plate  is 
flowed  over  with  the  above  described  etching  solution  and 
left  to  act  for  from  three  to  five  minutes.  During  this 
time  it  is  well  to  regulate  it  over  the  plate  with  a sponge 
or  soft  brush,  without  rubbing  hard-  Meantime  stains 
and  such  things  must  be.  removed  with  the  corrector’s 
hone  or  a piece  of  charcoal.  After  this  the  superfluous 
acid  is  removed,  but  this  must  not  be  poured  back  into 
the  stock  bottle — it  must  be  thrown  away.  The  plate  has 
now,  on  the  parts  where  there  is  no  drawing,  a whitish 
gray  coat,  which  possesses  a water  attracting  surface,  and 
is,  after  repeatedly  well  gumming,  fit  for  printing. 

If  this  surface  should  begin  to  tone,  it  can,  after  the 


38  Metal  Plate  Printing 

first  inking,  be  etched  again  in  the  same  way,  whereby 
the  difficulty  will  disappear. 

It  may  be  remembered  here  that  the  acid  mixture 
must  not  be  used  strongly,  as  too  much  acid  forms  a coat- 
ing, which  would  leave  the  plate  blank.  If  the  etching 
solution,  after  the  time  given,  has  not  formed  a suitable 
surface,  it  is  very  easy  to  prove  by  scraping  with  a broad 
needle;  then  the  etching  solution  must  be  used  weaker. 
Corrections  may  be  very  easily  made  by  this  method: 
either  polish  with  felt  or  pumice  powder  or  acidulate  with 
thin  vinegar  or  sulphuric  acid,  or  lightly  scratch  it  with 
scraper  or  needle,  only  be  careful  that  these  parts  are 
etched  according  to  the  rules  given. 

Oxidation  of  the  plates  is  excluded  by  this  method, 
and  they  may  be  preserved  for  years  without  in  the  least 
degree  deteriorating.  A favorite  method  of  engraving  on 
metal  plates  which  have  been  prepared  is  to  well  etch  the 
surface,  gum  up  and  dry  and  then  wash  off  thoroughly. 
Then  coat  thinly  with  an  asphaltum  resist  composition  of 
i part  yellow  beeswax  to  5 parts  Syrian  asphaltum  and 
melt  together  in  a bowl,  after  which  Benzoll  or  Spirits  of 
Turpentine  is  evenly  spread  over  the  plate  with  a broad 
camel-hair  brush.  The  operation  of  coating  should  take 
place  as  quickly  as  possible  in  a room  free  from  dust. 
Any  detached  hairs  left  from  the  brush  after  the  coating- 
must  be  removed.  To  give  the  coating  a dark  color,  the 
plate  is  gently  warmed  and  then  held  over  a candle  so 
that  the  smoke  will  mix  with  the  asphaltum  film  which 
has  become  soft,  and  penetrate  through  the  application  of 
heat.  An  almost  even  black  appearance  will  result,  which 


Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 


39 


will  permit  the  engraver  to  see  his  work  more  clearly  as 
it  progresses. 

When  the  plate  is  cool  the  drawing  or  image  is 
traced  on  this  blackened  surface  with  “set-off”  paper.  It 
is  then  engraved  by  means  of  needles  of  different  thick- 
ness, after  the  points  have  been  slightly  rounded  off  on 
glass-  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  needles  should  actually 
cut  into  the  metal,  as  it  is  sufficient  if  the  coating  be  just 
removed,  and  the  metal  bared  in  the  places  where  the 
lines  are  made.  It  is,  however,  preferable  that  the  needles 
should  just  touch  the  plate,  or  faintly  scratch  its  suf- 
face,  rather  than  that  the  asphaltum  should  not  be  re- 
moved by  the  needle.  When  the  whole  of  the  design  is 
completed,  any  accidental  incisions  or  scratches  should 
be  covered  with  asphaltum  solution,  and  when  this  has 
dried  the  plate  is  treated  with  an  acid  bath.  The  engrav- 
ing may  now  be  inked  in  by  means  of  a dauber  and 
printed  from  in  the  same  way  as  stone  engravings,  or  in 
order  to  be  able  to  use  an  ordinary  nap  roller  for  inking 
in  and  to  print  direct  from  the  plate  the  following  pro- 
cedure may  be  adopted : First,  ink  in  by  means  of  a dauber 
with  good  black  ink,  dust  in  with  fine  resin  powder,  chalk 
with  French  chalk,  then  heat  the  plate  to  cause  the  resin 
powder  to  fuse,  and  finally  etch  the  plate  with  a special 
high  etching  solution.  This  solution  is  applied  for  a few 
minutes  until  the  deepest  parts  become  sufficiently  flat  to 
be  inked  in  with  a nap  roller. 

If  so  desired  the  etching  of  the  plate  may  be  carried 
out  in  tone-stages,  first  etching  for  the  finest  parts,  from 
about  a half  to  two  minutes,  according  to  the  grade  of 
the  lines,  and  the  tone  values  of  image;  then  stopping 


40 


Metal  Plate  Printing 

out  these  finest  parts  with  the  asphaltum  resist  composi- 
tion, and  pursuing  the  etching  for  the  next  grade  of  tone, 
repeating  this  procedure  until  all  the  gradations  are  pro- 
duced. This  tone  etching  may  also  be  done  without  the 
stopping  out  operation  by  conducting  the  etching  of  the 
various  gradations  with  a brush  as  with  etching  machine 
engravings  on  stone. 

Commercial  designing  is  a trade  of  its  own  and  while 
learning  his  trade  the  commercial  engraver  is  usually  not 
instructed  in  designing,  but  later,  when  working  in  a 
smaller  litho  establishment  he  is  often  required  to  make 
his  own  sketches,  it  being  taken  as  a matter  of  course  that 
he  ought  to  know. 

Now  for  the  benefit  of  these  workers  it  is  suggested 
that  the  first  and  most  important  point  for  satisfactory 
wash  sketches  is  the  sketchboard. 

This  should  be  a rough  surface  (kid  finish)  bristol 
board.  If  for  some  reason  the  rough  surface  kind  should 
not  be  on  hand,  take  a smooth  surface  bristol,  hold  it 
under  the  hydrant  and  let  the  water  run  freely  over  both 
sides  of  the  paper  for  a few  minutes.  When  dry  it  will 
be  ready  for  sketching. 

The  wash  fluid  should  consist  of:  rubbed  India  ink, 
adding  a little  prussian  blue  or  dark  green,  and  some 
gamboge — this  should  be  a pretty  strong  tint — then  take 
some  of  the  mixture  in  another  saucer,  adding  a few 
drops  of  water,  making  a lighter  tint  of  the  same  color, 
for  the  lighter  shades. 

After  the  layout  is  made  with  an  “H”  pencil,  the 
black  or  solid  work  is  done  first,  with  waterproof  ink.  The 
open  lettering  and  other  fine  lines  required  to  appear  on 


Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 


41 


the  sketch  to  be  outlined  with  the  darker  wash  fluid,  using 
a fine  pen. 

After  this,  thoroughly  clean  the  sheet  with  a soft  rub- 
ber, taking  off  all  the  pencil  and  other  marks. 

When  washing  the  cloud  effect,  or  background  in 
the  design,  apply  the  lighter  wash  fluid  where  the  tint 
is  to  be  strongest,  then  dip  the  brush  in  clean  water  (just 
a little)  and  work  the  tint  towards  the  lighter  points- 
Another  brush  with  nothing  but  clean  water,  should  be 
used  for  the  extreme  ends  and  lightest  parts.  Shading 
of  lettering  to  be  put  in  last,  with  the  darker  fluid. 

In  designing  script,  the  top  and  bottom  guide-lines, 
and  the  general  layout,  should  be  drawn  with  a well- 
sharpened  “HB.”  or  “H.”  pencil,  then  go  over  the  let- 
tering with  a “5  H.”  pencil,  using  some  pressure  in  doing 
so,  after  this,  clean  the  sheet  with  a soft  rubber,  which 
will  take  everything  off  the  sketch  except  the  sharp  lines 
made  with  the  “5  HA  pencil.  Cut  in  the  body  lines  with 
rubber  India  ink. 

This  process  will  be  found  very  simple  and  satisfac- 
tory to  the  man  with  limited  experience,  and  might  prove 
beneficial  to  the  older  craftsmen. 

While  metal  plates  are  prepared  to  receive  transfers 
or  drawings  in  numerous  ways,  some  of  the  prepared 
plates  do  not  require  any  treatment  at  all  before  drawing 
or  transferring  except  to  be  wiped  off  with  a piece  of 
clean  cheese  cloth  to  eliminate  dust  from  the  surface; 
where  the  surface  is  not  so  prepared  they  may  be  treated 
by  any  one  of  a dozen  means.  They  may  be  first  polished, 
for  instance,  with  pumice  and  try-stone.  In  the  graining 
process,  to  obtain  a matt  surface  it  is  well  to  use  pumice, 


42 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


emery  and  glass-powder,  much  the  same  way  as  stones 
are  made  ready,  or  they  may  receive  a fine  grain,  or 
“tooth/’  by  means  of  an  acid  bath  as  previously  set  forth. 
The  sand  blast,  which  gives  a fine  granulated  surface  not 
unlike  a very  fine  grained  stone,  is  the  favorite  method 
in  Germany.  After  the  plates  have  been  thus  treated  they 
should  be  immersed  in  a bath  of  alum,  water  and  nitric 
acid  as  before  mentioned.  After  the  acid  bath  they  must 
be  thoroughly  washed  with  clean  water  and  promptly 
dried.  A stoneware  or  enamelled  trough  is  required  for 
the  bath  and  it  is  better,  and  more  economical  in  the 
end,  if  the  backs  of  the  plates  are  protected  with  an  acid 
resist,  such  as  a coating  of  asphaltum. 

In  roughening  the  surface  of  the  plate  after  the  bath 
a favorite  method  among  those  who  have  adopted  metal, 
is  to  place  a plate  on  a perfectly  flat,  thick  wooden  board 
or  on  a litho  stone,  with  a sheet  of  damp  felt  underneath 
to  prevent  movement.  It  is  then  damped  and  pumice 
powder  sifted  over  it.  A wooden  block  covered  with  a 
piece  of  close  felt  or  flannel  is  then  used  as  a grainer, 
the  operator  bearing  heavily  upon  it  and  moving  it  con- 
tinuously with  a circular  motion  over  every  part  of  the 
plate.  When  the  powder,  in  working,  assumes  a black 
slimy  condition  it  should  be  washed  off  with  water  from 
a tap  or  through  an  India-rubber  tube  and  fresh  powder 
sifted  over  the  plate.  It  will  take  about  forty  minutes 
and  three  or  four  renewals  of  powder  to  properly  roughen 
a 25x38  inch  plate.  When  the  roughening  is  completed 
and  the  plate  thoroughly  washed,  the  water  may  be  re- 
moved by  means  of  a “squeegee,”  the  plate  will  now  dry 


Engraving  on  Metal  Plates 


43 


quickly  and  should  have  a beautiful,  dull  silver-like  ap- 
pearance, and  is  ready  for  use. 

To  obtain  a more  decided  grain  for  chalk  drawing 
a different  treatment,  owing  to  the  difficulty  in  graining 
the  metal  is  required.  This  treatment  consists  of  the 
plate  being  fastened  in  a wooden  tray  and  a large  num- 
ber of  smaller  or  larger  glass  balls,  with  finer  or  coarser 
sand  according  to  the  quality  of  grain  required,  along 
with  a supply  of  water,  being  moved  about  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  plate  by  means  of  a rocking  motion  given  to 
the  tray  containing  the  plate  and  balls.  A special  appa- 
ratus for  this  purpose  is  supplied  by  the  proprietors  of  the 
various  metal  plate  processes. 

Drawing  on  metal  plates  is  done  exactly  as  on  stone, 
with  pen  or  brush  and  liquid  ink  on  the  ordinary  plates, 
or  with  chalk  on  plates  grained  for  the  purpose.  A soft 
lead  pencil,  B or  BB,  may  be  used  for  sketching  or  out- 
lining on  the  plate,  or  charcoal  if  the  subject  is  a large 
one.  For  tracing  red  chalked  paper  is  the  safest  and 
most  useful.  Oily  tracing  paper  must  be  carefully 
avoided.  It  is  necessary  not  to  attempt  to  pick  or  scrape 
the  plate  for  alteration.  Anything  drawn  wrong  will  be 
better  left  alone  and  altered  after  the  plate  has  been 
rolled  up  and  prepared.  The  work  requiring  to  be  altered 
may  then  be  easily  deleted  and  the  part  resensitized  for 
again  drawing  upon.  Metal  plates,  being  very  sensitive 
to  grease,  great  care  must  be  exercised  by  the  artist  when 
working  upon  them. 


Preserving  the  Plates 


BEFORE  outlining  more  fully  the  various  recipes  and 
methods  in  vogue  in  the  preparatory  work,  it  might 
be  well  to  state  in  passing  that  the  preservation  of  plates, 
after  they  have  been  received  in  the  shop,  is  of  vast  im- 
portance. The  storing  away  of  plates — and  for  that  mat- 
ter the  same  applies  to  stone — without  proper  precautions 
for  preventing  deterioration,  is  harmful  in  the  extreme. 
It  is,  in  fact,  by  no  means  rare,  when  some  future  printer 
comes  to  utilize  these  reserve  plates,  to  find  that  they  pre- 
sent many  serious  difficulties  to  the  execution  of  good 
work,  solely  through  the  want  of  the  most  ordinary  pre- 
cautions. 

Possibly  the  design  has  become  weak  and  only  takes 
the  ink  with  difficulty,  and  the  delicate  parts  do  not  print 
sufficiently  dark.  The  printer  may  try  all  he  knows  to 
impart  new  vigor  to  the  work,  only  to  find  that  his  ef- 
forts accentuate  the  defects  and  blacken  the  surface  of  the 
plate  or  stone,  which  thereby  loses  its  tonality. 

If  the  metal  plates  bear  designs  full  of  little  elevated 
points  and  hollows  which  become  unduly  prominent  in 
working — thus  destroying  all  harmony  of  design  and  giv- 
ing the  impressions  a disagreeable  appearance — it  is  easy, 
when  they  appear  in  the  white  spaces,  to  remove  these 
points  by  the  aid  of  a scraper.  It  is  not  so  easy,  however, 

44 


Preserving  the  Plates 


45 


when  they  show  in  the  design,  for  if  the  impression  which 
appears  is  a little  sensitive,  the  scraping  accentuates  them, 
and  the  retouching  which  is  subsequently  made  becomes 
useless  for  careful  work. 

Such  accidents  are  generally  due  to  the  effect  of  the 
atmospheric  conditions  of  the  storeroom  the  plates  are 
kept  in.  These  places,  it  must  be  said,  are  often  the  most 
unsanitary  or  out-of-the-way  parts  of  the  workshop. 
Often  the  storeroom  for  stones  or  plates  is  near  to  some 
damp  place,  the  emanation  from  which  softens  and  de- 
stroys the  coating  of  gum ; or  the  gum  becomes  acid  and 
gradually  destroys  the  plate  left  exposed  without  defence 
to  the  pernicious  effects  of  damp  air  saturated  with  evil 
vapors.  The  compositions  turn  sour,  and  very  soon  the 
work  of  destruction  is  accomplished.  It  is  mostly  in 
small  offices  that  we  find  these  infectious  influences. 
There  stones  and  plates  are  heaped  together  promiscu- 
ously, and  sacrificed  in  advance  to  almost  certain  deteri- 
oration. The  only  excuse  is  the  want  of  space.  It  is 
easily  possible  to  render  stones  insensible  to  humidity, 
but  the  metal  plates  should,  by  all  means,  be  kept  in  a dry 
place.  To  render  the  plates  damp  proof,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, when  the  job  is  worked  off,  they  should  be  gummed 
up  with  a cold  solution  of  gum  arabic  to  which  some 
bichromate  of  potash  has  been  added. 

The  coating  given  ought  to  be  very  regular,  thin, 
and  very  rapidly  applied.  When  it  is  dry  the  plate  should 
be  exposed  to  light  for  half  to  three-quarters  of  an  hour. 
This  produces  a combination  of  the  gum  with  the  chromic 
acid.  The  coating  becomes  invulnerable  to  damp,  and 
the  plate  is  protected  against  all  oxidation.  After  having 


46 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


been  exposed,  the  plate  is  gummed  afresh  with  ordinary, 
gum,  being  careful  that  it  is  not  sour,  which  would  oxi- 
dize the  plate. 

When  it  is  required  to  use  the  plate  after  being  in 
store  for  any  time,  it  is  sufficient  to  wash  it  with  water  to 
which  i to  2 per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid  has  been  added. 
The  coat  of  bichromatized  gum  is  rapidly  dissolved,  and 
the  plate  is  then  ready  for  printing.  In  order  to  pre- 
serve the  work  on  metal  plates  when  they  are  to  be  stored 
away  for  a considerable  time,  the  following  method  has 
found  favor  in  many  houses : 

The  printing  ink  should  be  washed  off  the  plate,  and 
the  job  must  then  be  rolled  up  in  a non-drying  preserva- 
tive ink  which  will  not  oxidize  on  contact  with  the  at- 
mosphere. This  ink  is  generally  compounded  by  the 
printer  himself,  and  sufficient  quantity  mixed  up  to  be 
kept  in  stock,  so  as  to  last  for  a considerable  time.  It  is 


prepared  as  follows: 

Spermaceti .4  oz. 

Beeswax 6 oz. 

Good  Black  Litho.  Ink 4 oz. 

Olive  Oil 1 fluid  oz. 

Glycerine J4  oz. 


The  wax  and  spermaceti  should  be  melted  first,  then 
the  ink  added  in  small  quantities  till  dissolved,  and  the 
oil  well  incorporated.  Tallow  may  be  used  in  place  of 
the  spermaceti  if  desired,  but  the  latter  is  the  best.  A 
special  nap  roller  should  be  kept  for  this  ink,  and  all  jobs 
on  plates  that  have  to  stand  a long  time  should  be  rolled 
in  with  this  ink  before  putting  away.  There  will  then  be 
no  danger  or  trouble  in  washing  out  when  required  again. 


I 

Preserving  the  Plates  47 

If  necessary,  the  ink  can  be  softened  still  more  by  the 
addition  of  a few  drops  of  turps  before  applying  to  the 
roller. 

Another  and  more  simple  way  is  to  gum  the  plate 
up  with  thin  gum  which  is  rubbed  very  smooth  and  fanned 
dry.  Then  wash  out  with  an  asphaltum  solution  com- 
posed of  asphaltum,  beeswax,  tallow  and  turpentine, 
which  can  be  purchased  from  almost  any  supply  house 
which  deals  in  metal  plates,  at  a reasonable  price.  This 
method  is  much  more  simple,  as  it  requires  no  rolling  up 
and  has  been  used  successfully  in  some  quarters. 


Zinc  and  Aluminum 


AN  English  authority,  discussing  the  relative  merits 
. of  aluminum  and  zinc  plates,  after  admitting  that 
the  printing  from  both  is  closely  associated,  declares 
aluminum  to  be  superior. 

Aluminum,  this  authority  asserts,  possesses  some  de- 
cided differences  in  character  which  call  for  special  at- 
tention, both  in  preparing  the  work  and  printing  the 
same.  It  possesses  several  advantages  over  zinc  and, 
keeping  to  the  same  comparison,  has  no  disadvantages. 
These  advantages  are  pointed  out  as  follows : 

i.  It  is  a beautiful  white  metal,  and  shows  very 
clearly  the  work  drawn  or  transferred  upon  it,  and  is 
therefore  more  agreeable  to  work  with. 

2.  It  is  extremely  light,  its  specific  gravity  being 
about  2.5,  while  zinc  is  about  6.9,  showing  that  it  is  not 
far  short  of  being  only  one-third  the  weight  of  zinc. 

3.  It  is  very  ductile,  and  though  this  does  not  count 
for  much  in  comparison  with  zinc,  which  is  also  ductile, 
it  is  yet  a favorable  quality  when  taken  into  considera- 
tion with  its  lightness  and  weight. 

4.  It  is  not  affected  by  nitric  or  sulphuric  acid,  neither 
will  it  tarnish  or  corrode  by  exposure  to  damp  or  impure 
air;  this  latter  quality  is  a valuable  one  in  storing  plates 
for  future  use.  It  is  acted  upon  more  or  less  actively  by 

48 


Zinc  and  Aluminum 


49 


hydrofluoric,  hydrochloric  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  also 
by  strong  alkalies. 

5.  It  possesses  a more  porous  nature  than  zinc,  being 
in  this  respect  nearer  the  litho.  stone  than  any  other  metal 
we  are  acquainted  with. 

The  metal,  which  was  previously  very  scarce  and  ex- 
pensive, has  in  recent  years  been  produced  on  a commer- 
cial scale,  being  now  obtained  in  large  quantity  by  means 
of  electricity  from  a certain  mineral  or  clay  called  Baux- 
ite. Aluminum  was  found  to  possess  so  many  good  quali- 
ties that  it  was  soon  experimented  with  as  a printing  me- 
dium by  a German  lithographer,  whose  experiments  were 
in  a large  measure  successful.  After  further  careful  ex- 
perimenting by  German  lithographic  establishments,  the 
process  assumed  more  definite  shape,  and  patent  rights 
were  obtained  in  various  countries  for  working  it- 

In  America  also,  aluminum  plates  were,  at  an  early 
stage,  experimented  with  as  a substitute  for  stone,  and 
are  now  used  for  printing  many  classes  of  work. 

The  process  became  known  and  was  introduced  to 
the  printing  trade  in  England  under  the  name  of  “Al- 
graphy,”  which  is  now  its  distinctive  title  in  England. 

In  the  United  States  at  the  present  time,  there  are  a 
number  of  factories  where  both  aluminum  and  zinc  plates 
are  being  manufactured  and  the  demand  for  the  output 
is  very  large,  and  growing  all  the  time.  It  is  a fact  that 
cannot  be  denied  successfully,  however,  that  the  zinc 
plate  has  met  with  greater  favor  than  the  aluminum. 

British  ingenuity  discovered  that  the  ductility  of 
aluminum  made  it  very  suitable  for  forming  into  plates, 
and  these  plates  possessing  a semi-porous  nature  lent 


50 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


themselves  in  no  ordinary  degree  to  the  requirements  of 
the  lithographic  basis  of  printing,  viz.,  the  mutual  repul- 
sion of  grease  and  water.  This  porosity  is  further  as- 
sisted as  the  means  of  retaining  moisture  by  having  the 
plates  prepared  with  a fine  granular  surface.  This  fine 
grain  or  '‘tooth”  gives  a very  suitable  surface  for  print- 
ing, and  permits  of  the  rollers  taking  kindly  to  the  plate 
when  passing  over  it. 

There  are  various  solutions  necessary  for  the  proper 
working  of  aluminum  plates.  They  are  happily  not  of  a 
complex  nature,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  imperative  that 
they  should  be  carefully  attended  to  if  successful  print- 
ing from  these  plates  is  to  be  obtained.  Further,  it  is 
only  reasonable  to  expect  that  those  who  have  had  expe- 
rience in  the  process  since  its  inception  and  have  passed 
through  all  the  experimental  stages  of  its  progress  should 
be  able  to  give  the  best  possible  means  to  attain  the  de- 
sired end.  While  it  is  true  that  a few  years  ago,  alumi- 
num appeared  to  be  far  superior  to  zinc,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  more  recent  improvements  in  the  latter 
metal  have  resulted  in  the  production  of  a zinc  plate  that 
is  almost  pure,  which  does  not  now  contain  the  non- 
porous  surface  formerly  complained  of,  and  prepared  zinc 
plates  are  now  being  made  and  sold  wherever  the  litho- 
graphic art  is  practiced. 


Alterations 


LTERATIONS,  whether  on  stone  or  metal,  are 


always  troublesome  and  are  not  uniformly  suc- 
cessful. An  authority  on  alterations  has  this  to  say 
about  that  feature  of  the  work : 

The  work  should  be  rolled  up  with  a strong  black 
ink  and  dusted  over  with  French  chalk  (talc)-  Remove 
the  part  which  requires  altering  with  a mixture  of  half 
etching  solution  and  half  turpentine  on  a small,  clean 
piece  of  flannel  and  rinse  well  with  water,  then  apply  a 
solution  which  consists  of  a strong  alkaline  to  destroy 
the  grease.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  touch  the  re- 
maining work,  as  this  solution  would  destroy  it.  The 
alkaline  solution  is  gently  rubbed  with  a small  piece  of 
felt  or  flannel  in  all  directions  for  one  or  two  minutes 
over  the  part  where  the  old  work  has  been  removed,  and 
then  well  rinsed  with  water.  Then  pour  a few  drops  of 
solution  on  a small  piece  of  sponge  and  rub  over  the  part 
which  should  receive  the  alteration  and  again  rinse  with 
plenty  of  water.  This  operation  should  be  repeated  two 
or  three  times  to  secure,  success.  Now  the  plate  is  dried ; 
then  a few  drops  of  coating  solution  is  poured  on  the 
plate  and  brushed  with  a soft,  clean  nail  brush  till  the 
coating  is  thoroughly  dry,  when  the  prepared  part  of  the 
plate  is  ready  to  be  drawn  upon. 


51 


52 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


The  one  thing  needful  in  order  that  alterations  may 
be  satisfactorily  made,  is  to  have  the  plate  perfectly  free 
from  grease,  gum  and  dirt ; in  short,  to  have  a chemically 
clean  or  sensitive  surface,  such  as  existed  when  it  came 
from  the  makers. 

After  this  the  plate  is  washed  thoroughly  on  both 
sides  with  a copious  supply  of  perfectly  clean  water,  tak- 
ing care  that  no  scum  of  the  bath  remains  upon  its  sur- 
face ; it  is  then  rapidly  dried,  either  over  a heater,  or  in  a 
hot  air  chamber  to  prevent  streak  markings,  or  oxidation 
through  slow,  faulty  drying  in  a cold  atmosphere.  The 
plate  is  then  ready  for  either  the  litho.  transferrer,  artist, 
or  engraver. 

The  chief  merits  of  metal  plate  printing,  whether 
from  zinc  or  aluminum,  prepared,  or  unprepared  plates, 
are  economy,  speed,  simplicity  and  efficiency,  and  we  are 
confident  that  such  merits  will  appeal  to  all  lithographic 
establishments  desirous  of  progress. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


THE  operation  of  transferring  work  to  metal  plates, 
whether  of  zinc  or  aluminum,  is  almost  the  same  as 
that  for  stone.  As  a general  rule  the  plates,  being  thin, 
require  for  convenience  in  working,  to  be  placed  on  a 
stone  with  a wet  sheet  of  paper  underneath  to  prevent 
slipping,  although  there  are  other  methods  which  will  be 
dealt  with  later.  As  a set  rule,  it  is  not  advisable  to  heat 
the  plates;  if  any  heat  should  be  required,  however,  for 
some  special  work  the  stone  may  be  slightly  warmed, 
which  will  answer  every  purpose-  The  work  is  then 
damped  and  transferred  in  the  usual  way.  These  plate 
transfers  should  be  passed  through  on  sheets  of  paper 
twice,  as  a general  rule,  to  remove  all  superfluous  ink. 
It  is  a good  thing,  and  should  invariably  be  carried  out, 
to  pass  all  plate  transfers  through  the  litho.  press,  face 
down,  on  a sheet  of  smooth  printing  paper,  afterwards 
heating  them  off  before  a fire. 

While  the  general  method  of  lithographing  from 
metal  plates  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  used  in  printing 
from  stone,  there  is  enough  difference  to  puzzle  some 
very  clever  lithographers,  and  those  who  are  about  to 
adopt  the  new  process  will  find  the  suggestions  and  rules 
laid  down  here  to  be  of  considerable  importance.  While 
there  is  no  absolute  rule  laid  down  for  using  metal  plates, 

53 


54 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


the  reader  will  find  that  he  will  be  able  to  accomplish 
more  easily  and  successfully  that  which  he  sets  out  to  do 
if  he  follows  these  suggestions.  The  fact  that  the  offset 
process  of  lithographing  calls  for  the  use  of  plates  in- 
stead of  stone,  and  that  hundreds  of  establishments  have 
recently  adopted  the  offset  press  makes  a knowledge,  of 
metal  plate  printing  more  desirable  just  now  than  at  any 
other  period. 

After  the  transfer  has  been  made  and  the  starch  has 
been  removed  from  the  plate,  the  American  lithographer 
covers  the  surface  of  the  plate  with  strong  gum  and  this 
is  rubbed  up  while  the  plate  is  still  wet.  It  is  then 
washed  out  with  an  asphaltum  solution  on  the  dry  gum. 
This  solution  is  generally  of  a very  greasy  nature  else 
the  work  will  not  roll  up  solid.  After  it  is  washed  out 
with  the  asphaltum  solution,  it  is  then  washed  off  with 
water  and  rolled  up.  When  the  work  has  become  fully 
charged  with  ink  it  is  dusted  with  resin  and  French 
chalk  and  etched  with  etching  solution.  Every  maker  of 
plates  for  lithographic  purposes  supplies  a special  etch- 
ing solution,  and  as  a majority  of  American  houses  use 
the  plates  that  are  specially  prepared,  it  is  advisable  to 
obtain  this  solution  from  the  manufacturer  of  the  plate 
in  use. 

After  the  plate  has  been  etched,  it  is  thoroughly 
cleaned  with  water  and  then  gummed  up,  and  the  gum 
fanned  dry.  After  washing  it  out  with  the  asphaltum 
solution  on  the  dry  gum  it  is  ready  for  the  press  and  all 
that  is  necessary  is  to  wash  the  plate  off  with  water,  roll 
up  and  print. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


55 


When  using  the  prepared  metal  plates,  American 
lithographers  begin  by  having  their  sponges,  basins  and 
hands  clean  and  an  ample  supply  of  clear,  fresh  water. 
It  is  not  advisable  to  touch  the  surface  of  a plate  of  this 
character  with  the  hands,  as  the  moisture  may  leave  a 
stain.  The  surface  is  first  dusted  off  with  a clean  cheese 
cloth  and  if  dry  pumice  powder  should  be  used,  it  ought 
to  be  done  with  discretion,  as  it  is  liable  to  remove  the 
prepared  surface  of  the  plate  and  cause  the  work  to  tint. 

The  impressions  should  be  pulled  very  black,  but  at 
the  same  time  sharp,  using  about  one-half  good  black  ink 
and  one-half  good  transfer  ink,  reduced  with  a No.  ooo 
or  No.  oo  varnish.  When  the  transfer  is  patched  up  it 
should  be  pulled  through  the  same  as  a stone  transfer, 
using  slightly  more  pressure.  The  plate  can  either  be 
laid  on  a stone  or  on  an  iron  bed,  the  latter  being  prefer- 
able, as  it  is  less  liable  to  break.  A small  quantity  of  gum 
put  under  the  plate  before  pulling  through  the  transfer 
press  will  cause  it  to  hold  firmly  to  the  stone  or  iron  bed, 
which  will  be  an  advantage  when  rolling  up. 

The  plate  should  be  pulled  through  sufficiently  to 
transfer  the  work  from  the  paper  to  the  metal,  after 
which  the  paper  is  soaked  off.  Great  care  should  be 
taken  to  remove  all  starch  from  the  plate  as  this  would 
have  a tendency  to  cause  a tint  when  rolling  up.  After 
the  plate  has  been  thoroughly  rinsed  with  water,  fan  it 
dry,  and,  where  necessary,  touch  up  either  with  tusche, 
litho  crayon  or  lead  pencil. 

After  the  plate  has  been  touched  up,  gum  it  up, 
having  the  gum  about  the  consistency  of  syrup  and  rub 
it  up  before  the  gum  is  allowed  to  dry  on  the  plate.  If  it 


56 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


is  a large  plate,  it  is  best  to  gum  only  a small  portion  at 
a time,  as  when  the  gum  dries  it  acts  as  an  etch.  The 
rubbing  up  ink  should  be  any  good  black  ink  reduced  with 
thin  varnish  and  turpentine,  but  use  as  little  turpentine  as 
possible,  as,  when  it  is  too  freely  used,  it  may  cause  a 
tint.  The  plate  will  not  rub  up  solid,  but  will  roll  up 
after  the  first  etch,  after  being  washed  out  with  the  as- 
phaltum  solution.  When  the  work  is  sufficiently  rubbed 
up,  wash  the  surplus  gum  and  ink  ofif  with  clean  water 
and  fan  dry;  powder  with  resin  and  French  chalk  and 
etch  with  good,  strong  etching  solution,  after  which  wash 
the  plate  with  clean  water  and  gum  up,  taking  care  to  rub 
the  gum  smooth  and  fan  dry.  The  plate  is  then  washed 
off  with  an  asphaltum  solution;  rub  this  smooth  and  fan 
dry,  after  which  wash  the  plate  off  with  clean  water  and 
proceed  to  roll  up,  using  a good  black  ink  reduced  with  a 
No.  oo  varnish  for  this  purpose.  When  sufficiently  rolled 
up,  again  resin  and  powder  with  French  chalk,  then  pro- 
ceed to  clean  out  dirt  spots,  etc.,  using  a pointed  piece  of 
wood  and  pumice  powder,  or  snake  slip,  for  the  purpose. 
A Gamberger  stone  is  also  very  good  for  polishing  out 
work  on  metal  plates.  After  this  the  plate  is  etched  with 
etching  solution  very  strong;  this  is  washed  off  with 
clean  water,  the  plate  is  again  gummed  up  and  fanned 
dry,  washed  out  with  the  asphaltum  solution  and  is  then 
ready  for  the  steam  press. 

In  rolling  up  the  metal  plates  a great  many  people 
use  the  ink  too  stiff — this  is  a big  mistake.  It  will  be 
found  much  better  to  use  a very  thin  ink.  The  plate  will 
roll  up  much  easier  and  not  catch  up  as  quickly.  This 
is  just  the  reverse  from  the  litho.  stone.  In  fact  all  inks 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates  57 

used  on  metal  plates,  both  for  transferring  and  steam 
press  printing  should  be  ground  very  short.  A small 
quantity  of  machine  oil  or  varnish  mixed  with  the  ink 
will  sometimes  stop  a tint  where  stiff  varnish  would  not. 

In  patching  up  a job  great  care  should  be  taken  to 
prevent  any  dust  from  settling  on  the  impressions,  as 
metal  plates  are  extremely  sensitive.  This  is  a very  im- 
portant feature  to  be  considered  when  bronze  powder  is 
floating  about  through  the  shop.  This  may  appear  a 
small  matter,  but  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  Many 
a transferrer  has  wasted  a whole  day  in  cleaning  out 
small  black  spots  on  a plate  when  it  could  have  been 
avoided  by  a little  care  in  keeping  the  transfer  impres- 
sion covered  up. 

It  is  always  best  to  use  a damp  transfer  paper,  but 
shoufd  it  be  necessary  to  dampen  the  plate,  a weak  solu- 
tion of  alum  water  will  be  found  beneficial.  It  should  be 
applied  to  the  metal  plate  freely  and  with  a clean  piece  of 
cheese  cloth,  and  gradually  rubbed  smooth  and  when 
sufficiently  dry  the  transfer  should  be  laid  down  with 
rapidity. 

Do  not  attempt  to  wash  the  plate  out  as  you  would 
stone.  Always  gum  the  plate  and  wash  out  with  the  as- 
phaltum  solution  on  the  dry  gum.  Use  plenty  of  clean 
water  in  making  these  transfers,  which  will  mean  suc- 
cess to  any  one  attempting  to  make  transfers  to  metal 
plates. 

The  following  method  of  transferring  to  metal  plates 
is  based  on  the  experience  of  an  American  transferrer 
who  is  familiar  only  with  metal  plates,  but  who  is  one  of 
the  most  expert  men  in  this  country. 


58 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


In  making  a commercial  transfer  for  the  offset  press, 
when  the  engraving  is  made  the  regular  way,  use  two 
kinds  of  India  paper,  coated ; one  piece  should  be  slightly 
more  damp  than  the  other;  pull  a good,  clean,  sharp  im- 
pression from  the  engraving  on  the  dryer  piece,  and,  if 
satisfactorily  made,  take  this  impression  and  make  a 
reverse  at  once  (never  pull  all  your  impressions  of  the 
job  at  one  time) — reverse  each  impression  right  away  by 
laying  a piece  of  soft  enameled  paper,  face  up,  on  the 
stone,  then  place  the  blank  piece  of  India  (damp)  on 
this  face  up  and  on  top  place  your  impression  and  a soft 
backer  (a  rubber  sheet),  and  pull  through  with  medium 
pressure ; then  take  a clean  sponge  with  clean  water,  first 
loosening  the  edges  of  both  impressions,  and  quickly  pass 
over  the  top  of  the  impression  pulled  from  the  engraving, 
and  before  it  gets  a chance  to  get  wet  through  pull  the 
impression  apart.  This  will  leave  the  work  retransferred 
on  the  blank  piece.  This  requires  a little  practice,  but  it 
is  a good  way. 

Another  way  is  to  place  a damp  blotter  on  top  instead 
of  the  rubber  sheet.  After  having  all  your  impressions 
pulled  to  your  satisfaction,  you  proceed  the  same  as  you 
would  for  a stone  in  regard  to  laying  out  your  sheet  and 
sticking  up,  etc.,  allowing  for  gripper  not  less  than  V&  to 
14  inch — taking  care  in  sticking  up  that  your  impressions 
are  not  all  reversed  so  as  to  avoid  making  a mistake  in 
the  reading  matter  of  the  job  in  hand. 

Having  your  job  stuck  down  O.  K.,  you  place  a 
large  unused  stone  in  the  press  and  get  your  plate,  we 
will  say  one  19x30,  and  your  work  is  a check  5 on  with 
stub ; place  your  plate  on  the  stone,  first  carefully  rubbing 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


59 


away  every  lumpy  speck  from  the  surface  of  the  stone  to 
avoid  lumps  on  the  plate,  then,  with  a clean  cloth,  wipe 
off  both  sides  of  your  plate,  using  a piece  of  cloth,  for 
the  back  by  laying  the  plate  on  a sheet  of  clean  paper 
face  down,  then  dampening  your  stone  and  lay  your  plate 
with  two  edges  (side  and  gripper)  close  to  the  edge  of 
the  stone  towards  you ; now  get  a scraper  19  inches  wide 
(taking  care  not  to  use  this  scraper  for  anything  else  but 
for  your  zinc  transfers)  ; set  your  scrapers  and  get  your 
pressure,  using  a little  more  pressure  than  on  stone,  using 
2 or  3 sheets  of  soft  newspaper  (blank)  for  backer;  you 
then  take  a clean  cloth  and  rub  over  the  surface  of  your 
plate  to  remove  all  dust  and  dirt;  then  take  your  rule 
and  measure  and  make  a center  line  of  30  inches  (15 
inches),  then  measure  1 }i  inch  from  the  end  of  plate  and 
make  two  small  marks  as  a guide  to  lay  your  sheet  on 
(this  is  for  gripper  allowance)  ; now  you  dampen  a sheet 
of  paper  and  lay  it  on  your  work  (don’t  dampen  the 
plate).  When  sufficiently  damp  or  tacky,  take  your  work 
and  lay  the  stub  end  of  your  check  on  the  two  marks  of 
the  plate,  put  your  backer  on  top  and  pull  through  about 
three  or  four  times  back  and  forward;  afterward  you 
take  your  plate  up  and  turn  it  around  with  the  gripper 
end  opposite  yourself,  but  lay  the  plate  on  the  stone  the 
same.  Now  dampen  a sheet  of  paper  and  lay  on  top, 
using  the  same  backer  and  pull  through  again  three  or 
four  times  as  before,  and  turn  your  plate  again  and  pro- 
ceed the  same  way  again,  using  a lighter  pressure  this 
time  to  avoid  sliding ; care  should  be  taken  in  this  course,, 
or  it  is  likely  to  spoil  your  job.  After  having  sufficiently 
dampened  your  work,  you  proceed  to  wash  off  the  trans- 


60 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


fer  paper  by  a good  soaking.  Wash  your  plate  off  clean. 
Be  sure  every  bit  of  starch  is  washed  off.  You  then  dry 
your  plate,  get  a good  fresh  tusche  and  tusche  up  where- 
ever  it  is  necessary  and  gum  up  your  plate  with  a good 
gum.  Do  not  gum  too  thick  and  rub  the  gum  down 
smooth  with  a clean  gum  cloth. 

After  your  plate  is  dry,  scrape  your  roller  and  use 
a medium  thin  ink  with  oo  varnish  on  roller.  Now  wash 
off  the  gum  with  clean  water  and  dampen  the  plate  ready 
for  rolling  up  the  work — care  to  be  taken  that  it  does  not 
catch  up.  Roll  over  the  plate  about  three  or  four  times 
to  give  the  work  a start,  then  dry  the  plate  and  if  any 
tusching  is  required  do  it,  and  after  this  gum  up  the 
plate  again  and  rub  smooth  and  dry.  Now  wash  out  your 
plate  with  turps,  on  top  of  the  gum,  dry  plate  with  a 
clean  rag  until  all  the  work  is  dissolved,  then  pour  a few 
drops  of  prepared  asphaltum  on  the  plate  and  with  an- 
other clean  rag  go  over  the  whole  plate  until  smooth  and 
dry.  Now  take  your  sponge  and  clean  water  and  wash 
off  the  plate  until  all  superfluous  asphaltum  is  removed 
and  your  plate  looks  clean,  then  proceed  to  dampen  and 
roll  up,  gradually  getting  your  work  up  until  it  becomes 
firm  and  clean  and  proceed  the  same  as  you  would  on  a 
stone^ — only  taking  care  you  don’t  overcharge  it  with 
ink,  using  the  ink  somewhat  thinner  than  on  stone,  and 
using  it  sparingly.  When  rolled  up  sufficiently,  dry  and 
resin,  using  sifted  resin.  Then  you  clean  out  your  plate 
with  a scotch  stone,  but  never  use  a needle  point  to  scrape 
as  the  plate  will  show  these  scrapings  on  the  rubber 
blanket  and  may  be  the  cause  of  making  your  transfer 


over. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


61 


After  the  plate  is  ready  for  etching,  you  dry  and 
resin  again  and  go  over  with  French  chalk,  and  proceed 
to  etch  with  etching  fluid.  After  the  etch  you  gum  up 
your  plate  again  and  dry  smooth.  Then  wash  out  your 
plate  with  the  asphaltum  as  before  and  give  it  to  the  press- 
man. If  a second  etch  is  necessary,  proceed  as  before 
and  use  a stronger  etching  solution. 

In  order  to  get  a good  negative  on  a metal  plate 
first  pull  a good  sharp  proof  from  the  job  to  be  worked, 
on  dry  transfer  paper,  first  rubbing  the  paper  with  talcum 
powder.  Then  clean  it  up  well.  After  the  impression  is 
made  sprinkle  some  fine  powdered  oxalic  acid  over  it, 
and  leave  it  on  five  or  ten  minutes,  then  clean  with  a fine 
brush  or  a little  cotton.  It  is  essential  that  the  oxalic 
acid  be  thoroughly  removed  from  the  paper  in  order 
to  insure  a good  transfer,  but  of  course  enough  should 
be  left  on  to  do  the  work. 

Now  comes  the  transferring.  Take  a good,  polished 
smooth  plate,  roll  it  up  good  and  solid  with  strong  pen 
ink  and  pull  the  powdered  impression  through  like  a 
regular  transfer.  It  might  be  well  to  wet  the  four  corners 
of  the  paper  in  order  to  be  sure  that  it  will  stick  firmly 
to  the  plate. 

Care  should  be  taken  in  dampening  the  transfer 
paper  not  to  get  it  too  wet.  It  will  be  best  to  simply 
dampen  the  back  of  it,  as  the  oxalic  acid  will  dissolve 
in  water  and  cause  the  lines  to  lose  their  sharpness.  The 
pulling  through  of  the  transfer  needs  a little  experience 
in  order  to  learn  just  how  many  times  it  should  be  pulled 
through,  as  too  many  pulls  is  likely  to  spoil  the  impres- 
sion. The  dissolving  of  the  transfer  paper  can  best  be 


62 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


done  with  a weak  solution  of  zinc  or  aluminum  acid  or 
gum,  which  should  be  left  on  a few  minutes  and  then  the 
plate  should  be  placed  under  running  water  until  all  the 
paper  has  run  away.  Then  wash  with  a soft  sponge  until 
the  drawing  comes  out  nice  and  plain.  After  this  etch  it 
with  a weak  solution  of  tannic  acid.  Gum  it  up  evenly 
and  without  washing  out  roll  it  up. 

In  transferring  to  metal  plates  the  European  litho 
houses  use  all  the  various  kinds  of  transfer  paper  that  are 
employed  for  stone  in  their  respective  applications. 

French  transparent  transfer  paper,  and  oak  varnish 
transparent  paper  are  used  chiefly  for  register  color 
work;  the  usual  stone  to  stone  transfer  paper  is  em- 
ployed for  the  metal  plate  as  for  the  stone. 

A most  serviceable  variety  of  this  latter  paper  is  that 
known  as  the  Dresden  yellow-coated  transfer  paper. 

For  transfers  from  engraved  stone  a good  quality 
plate  transfer  paper  is  used. 

In  the  matter  of  transfer  ink  the  same  conditions  are 
observed  for  metal  plates  as  for  stone,  with  but  little 
exception,  as  the  same  transfer  inks  are  used  all  round  for 
both  printing  surfaces;  the  usual  method  being  to  mix 
one  part  of  transfer  ink  with  one  part  of  a good  press 
black  ink  for  use  on  zinc  plates. 

This  makes  the  transfer  ink  in  the  best  condition  for 
work,  as  it  tones  down  the  greenness  of  the  greasy  con- 
stituents, and  at  the  same  time  increases  the  depth  of  the 
black  coloration,  so  that  the  finest  hair  lines  can  be  more 
distinctly  seen,  and  the  sharpest  effect  of  transfer  thus 
secured. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates  63 

Regarding  the  volume  of  ink  on  the  transfer  paper, 
as  compared  to  that  required  for  stone,  it  is  a definite 
fact  that  transfers  Sor  running  down  to  metal  plates 
should  be  pulled  fuller  of  ink  than  they  would  be  if 
pulled  for  use  on  stone;  yet  notwithstanding  this  fact, 
these  transfers  will  yield  a sharper  print  from  the  plate 
than  can  be  obtained  from  the  stone.  This  is  one  of 
the  valued  assets  of  metal  plate  printing,  that  infinitely 
sharper  and  finer  work  can  be  done  from  the  metal 
printing  surface  than  can  be  done  from  the  old  time 
quarry  rock  printing  surface,  as  represented  by  the  litho- 
graphic stone,  which  gives  a more  thick  and  smashed 
effect  in  printing  than  is  secured  from  the  plate. 

After  the  plate  has  been  roughened  and  prepared 
in  the  manner  described  the  transferrer  proceeds  to  carry 
out  the  actual  transferring  operations.  In  some  cases  the 
boxwood,  or  pear  tree  wood  press  scraper  is  first  levelled 
up  true  to  plane  and  this  is  done  by  rubbing  its  V-shaped 
edge  upon  sheets  of  glass  paper,  or  Cabinet  paper,  as  it 
is  variously  termed,  and  these  are  spread  across  the  trans- 
ferring bed  for  the  rubbing  operation  so  as  to  insure  that 
the  two  actuating  pressure  surfaces  shall  be  made,  parallel 
and  conforming  to  each  other. 

The  metal  plate  being  laid  upon  its  support  in  the 
press,  which  may  either  be  a special  iron  bed  or  a litho 
stone,  is  carefully  dusted  to  free  it  from  all  loose  fibres 
or  other  adhering  matter  to  prevent  scumming  or  undue 
friction. 

The  surface  of  the  plate  support  is  likewise  dusted 
over  with  a clean  rag  for  similar  reasons. 

Further,  the  printing  plate  surface  itself  is  always 


64 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


most  carefully  wiped  over  before  transferring  upon  it, 
or  “damped,”  as  the  requirements  of  the  different  classes 
of  transfer  papers  that  is  being  used'  may  dictate. 

In  this  connection  of  the.  preliminary  plate  dampen- 
ing operation,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  here  point  out  the 
important  differences  that  are  set  up  when  a plate  is 
dampened  with  a soft,  fluffy  cloth,  as  compared  with  the 
same  performance  when  applied  to  a smooth,  polished 
stone. 

The  printing  plate  surface  being  of  a “rough,”  “mat,” 
“granular”  character,  causes  the  soft  damp  fabric  to  cling 
to  it  when  drawn  across  it,  which  abrades  from  off  it 
innumerable  tiny  particles  of  detached  fibres;  these  be- 
come scattered  over  the  face  of  the  plate,  often  in  the 
form  of  tiny  pellets  which  interfere  with  the  perfect 
transferring  of  the  work  to  it,  causing  broken  lines  or 
tiny,  superfluous  “lights” — these  being  defects  requiring 
“touching  up”  in  the  subsequent  making  ready  operations 
of  the  transfer  work. 

Now,  as  before  alluded  to,  this  peculiarity  is  not 
near  so  apparent  or  possible  when  a similar  soft  fabric  is 
employed,  for  a similar  operation  in  dampening  a stone, 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  smooth  polished  surface  of  the 
stone  does  not  offer  the  same  “tooth,”  or  “rasping  abra- 
sion” to  the  soft  material  as  the  roughened  metal  plate 
surface  does. 

It  is,  therefore,  essential  that  in  order  to  produce  the 
best  results  with  a minimum  of  trouble,  in  adhering  to 
this  rule,  a firm  material  of  a fluffless  character  should  be 
used;  such  substances  may  be  found  in  the  use  of  a fine 
smooth  chamois  leather,  or  a large,  close-textured 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


65 


“cropped”  sponge  which  finds  favor  with  a number  of 
transferrers.  Others  use  a fine  corduroy  material. 

If,  however,  a soft  fabric  should  be  used  for  this 
dampening  of  the  plate,  then  it  must  not  be  wrung  out 
too  tightly,  in  order  that  a plentiful  supply  of  moisture 
may  be  retained  within  it,  and  thus  be  capable  of  being 
readily  imparted  to  the  plate  surface,  without  the  neces- 
sity of  having  to  use  any  great  friction  in  doing  so ; this 
will  circumvent  the  difficulty  considerably  by  reducing  the 
friction. 

Then  when  the  requisite  provision  is  made,  and  the 
proper  conditions  are  observed  and  practiced,  the  care- 
ful, skilful  transferrer  is  able  to  secure  perfect  trans- 
ferring results  from  metal  plates  with  the  utmost  satis- 
faction and  precision,  and  much  superior  to  that  usually 
attainable  from  lithographic  stone. 

For  the  “making  up”  of  the  successive  and  progres- 
sive color  plates  in  multi-color  work  in  England,  two 
different  kinds  of  transfer  papers  are  chiefly  used;  both 
of  them  being  of  the  transparent  character.  One.  of  these 
is  called  the  “oak  varnish  paper”  and  the  other  one  the 
“French  transparent  paper.”  Yet,  as  an  exception,  there 
are  a few  firms  that  use  an  opaque  variety  of  transfer 
paper. 

However,  of  the  two  kinds  referred  to,  the  one  most 
generally  popular  is  that  known  as  the  French  transpar- 
ent tracing  transfer  paper.  This  comprises  a thin  rice 
pulp  fibre  base,  coated  with  a layer  of  starch  and  al- 
buminous composition. 

The  transfer  is  pulled  from  the  dry  plate  or  stone 
upon  this  paper,  and  is  then  “shone  up”  to  the  key 


66  Metal  Plate  Printing 

sheet,  or  to  an  actual  sheet  of  the  work  in  progress. 
This  key  sheet  is  usually  a specially  well  rolled  and 
seasoned  manilla  fibre  paper  cut  from  the  reel  in  the 
“strong-way-run”  of  the  fibres,  i.  e.,  the  direction  in 
which  it  has  received  the  greatest  strain  and  drag  in 
the  paper  making  machine,  so  that  it  will  have  this 
strongest  and  most  resistive  direction  available  for  the 
strain  of  the  transfer  press. 

Where  large  size  sheets  are  being  printed,  with 
very  tight  registering  jobs  worked  upon  them;  then 
the  key  sheet  is  usually  one  securely  mounted  upon  a 
sheet  of  zinc,  so  that  it  shall  be  preserved  against  either 
contraction  or  expansion,  and  afiford  the  most  accurate 
and  reliable  registering  medium  for  all  the  colors 
throughout  the  transferring  operations. 

Another  method  but  little  known,  and  conse- 
quently but  little  practiced,  and  yet  one  which  affords 
many  commendable  advantages  and  facilities  peculiarly 
its  own,  and  withal  one  which  is  recommended  to  those 
who  require  a speedy,  economic  and  “adjustable” 
method  for  color  work  in  progress.  Especially  and 
particularly  where  such  chromo  work  may  be  under- 
going gradual  expansion  under  printing  pressure  and 
moisture,  as  so  many  classes  of  modern  printing  pa- 
pers are  now  only  too  prone  to  do. 

This  method  consists  in  first  preparing  a sheet  of 
thin  yet  very  strong  paper,  of  the  full  dimensions  of 
the  sheets  being  printed,  and  then  making  it  translu- 
cent and  impervious  to  moisture  by  varnishing  it  over 
with  a penetrative  coating  of  best  pale  oak  varnish 
thinned  down  with  turpentine.  This  should  be  done 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


67 


on  both  sides  of  the  paper  equally  to  obtain  the  maxi- 
mum result ; we  have  known,  however,  of  its  being 
used  with  the  coating  being  applied  to  one  side  only. 

When  this  prepared  paper  has  become  thoroughly 
dry,  it  is  then  ready  for  use,  after  having  first  dusted  it 
over  with  a small  quantity  of  French  chalk  (talc), 
which  subdues  any  greasiness  or  adhesiveness  that  it 
may  possess. 

For  use  then  an  average  sheet  of  the  printed  work 
in  course  of  progress  is  taken  from  the  run  and  laid 
upon  the  “sticking- up”  board.  Then  on  top  of  this  is 
laid  the  prepared  varnished  sheet;  both  of  them  being 
fastened  down  taut  and  secured  together  to  the  board 
by  means  of  drawing  pins  placed  at  each  corner,  and 
an  additional  one  or  two  being  run  through  these  in- 
tervening marginal  spaces  as  additional  security. 

It  is  now  assumed  for  illustration’s  sake  that  there 
is  in  hand  a sheet  30x20  inches  of  colored  postcards 
being  printed  in  8 colors,  and  that  only  four  colors  of 
the  job  have  been  done;  the  sheets  having  stretched 
considerably  during  the  working  of  these  four  print- 
ings, so  much  so  that  it  is  now  impossible  to  follow 
the  original  “key”  sheet  to  which  the  first  color  was 
“shown  up”  to,  as  the  dimensions  of  the  printed  col- 
ors have  now  become  larger  than  the  key  sheet. 

It  becomes  imperative  that  we  must  now  follow 
the  actual  printed  sheet  itself,  as  when  each  succes- 
sive color  being  printed  upon  it,  the  re-applied  pres- 
sure causes  the  sheets  to  “go”  a little  each  time ; so 
that  the  original  “key”  sheet  becomes  less  and  less  val- 
uable for  the  usual  transferring  registration  purposes. 


68  Metal  Plate  Printing 

Now  in  the  method  under  consideration,  we  em- 
ploy one  of  the  actual  printed  sheets  of  the  job  in 
progress,  to  serve  us  as  the  absolute,  precise  guide,  for 
the  true  registration  of  the  new  set  of  transfers,  for  the 
next  color  to  be  printed.  After  this  is  attained  we  are 
then  able  to  dispense  with  this  sheet  for  the  “running 
down”  of  them  to  the  machine  plate. 

This  is  accomplished  by  “shining-up”  each  individ- 
ual transfer  on  the  varnished,  transparent  sheet,  which 
enables  us  to  see  quite  clearly  the  whole  of  the  printed 
work  of  the  job,  lying  secured  beneath  it. 

So  that  the  outcome  of  this  is,  that  we  have  now 
our  next  sheet  of  transfers  fixed  in  absolute  register 
position  upon  this  transparent  shining-up  sheet;  and 
this  it  is  which  we  now  use  for  running  them  down  ac- 
curately to  the  machine  printing  plate,  instead  of  em- 
ploying the  “key”  sheet. 

This  sheet  is  virtually  impervious  to  moisture,  and 
of  an  unstretchable  nature,  due  to  the  duplex  varnish 
coatings  which  it  has  received ; and  it  does  not  require 
any  further  maturing  in  the  running  down  operations 
in  transferring  to  cause  it  to  adhere. 

Therefore  by  its  aid  we  are  enabled  to  obtain  the 
next  “color  set”  of  transfers  down  to  the  plate  with- 
out misfit,  and  in  true  compensation  for  the  vagaries  of 
the  expanding  sheets  of  the  job  that  is  being  printed. 
No  other  methods  we  know  of  offer  the  same  manifold 
advantages  as  these,  which  are  encompassed  within  the 
range  of  this  ingenious  system,  which  adapts  itself  to 
every  one  of  the  peculiar  and  extraordinary  require- 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


69 


merits  engendered  by  the  erratic  conditions  of  the  work 
involved. 

Resuming  again  the  “rolling-up”  procedure,  we 
may  here  appropriately  refer  to  another  method  as  prac- 
ticed by  some  Austrian  transferrers,  which  consists  of 
sprinkling  a few  drops  of  the  “asphaltum  washing-out 
tincture”  upon  the  black  nap  roller  when  “knocking  it 
up”  upon  the  ink  slab  at  and  during  the  time  of  rolling- 
up  the  new  set  of  transfers  just  run  down  on  the  ma- 
chine plate. 

In  some  respects  this  practice  is  beneficial,  but 
there  are  at  the  same  time  attendant  drawbacks  at- 
tached to  it  which  are  apt  to  nullify  its  other  merits. 
These  have  been  experienced  from  a careful  testing  of 
this  method  on  a number  of  different  occasions,  both 
in  America  and  England. 

A passing  consideration  of  the  underlying  princi- 
ples of  this  practice  will  soon  make  clear  the  points 
at  issue. 

When  the  transferrer  sprinkles  upon  his  nap  rol- 
ler some  of  this  “fluid  washout,”  which  consists  prin- 
cipally of  asphaltum  powder,  fats,  and  waxes  dissolved 
in  solvents  such  as  turps  and  benzole.  The  precise 
formula  for  which  is  as  follows : 


Asphaltum  powder i lb. 

Beeswax % lb. 

Tallow lb. 

Turps  5 pints. 

Benzole i pint. 

Oil  of  tar T/i  pint. 

Lavender  oil i fl.  oz. 


70 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


This  liquid  solvent  when  sprinkled  upon  the  black 
roller  naturally  softens  and  limpens  the  black  ink  with 
which  the  roller  is  charged.  The  effect  of  which  is 
that  this  ink  being  then  rendered  temporarily  flaccid 
and  less  adhesive  to  the  leather  nap  of  the  roller,  it  is 
in  this  condition  more  readily  imparted  to  the  greasy 
transfer  image  which  forms  the  work  upon  the  print- 
ing plate,  when  the  roller  is  passed  over  it  in  the  “roll- 
ing-up” operations,  and  consequently  causes  it  to  be- 
come more  promptly  charged  with  its  modicum  of  for- 
tifying ink  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case  without 
its  aid. 

But  later  on,  after  this  black  roller  has  been  al- 
lowed to  stand  unmoved  for  a few  minutes,  then  the 
turps  and  benzole  constituents  being  volatile  bodies, 
quickly  evaporate  out,  and  thus  leave  the  rehardened 
wax  and  asphaltum  substances  intermingled  with  the 
ink  on  the  roller,  which  then  in  turn  becomes  more 
hard  and  less  distributive  than  ever;  so  that  when  it 
is  again  brought  into  use  it  really  parts  with  its  ink  so 
sluggishly  that  the  transferrer  experiences  infinitely 
more  trouble  in  the  subsequent  rolling-up  of  his  work 
than  he  would  have  done  had  he  omitted  the  use  of 
this  “washout”  altogether. 

This  then  necessitates  a constant  “rescraping”  of 
the  black  roller,  and  the  “recharging”  of  it  again  with 
fresh  ink:  all  of  which  involves  extra  trouble  and  la- 
bor upon  the  transferrer. 

This  use  then  of  the  “asphaltum  tincture”  with 
the  rolling  up  ink  may  be  permissible  for  emergency 
work  only  where  a mediocre  job  is  required  to  be  made 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


71 


ready  with  unusual  expedition,  and  where  circum- 
stances will  permit  of  a speedy  rectifying  of  the  roller 
again  to  its  proper  condition. 

But  now  returning  to  the  “washing-out”  proced- 
ure of  the  newly  formed  transfer  upon  the  printing 
plate  and  the  “rolling-up”  of  it:  there  is  still  another 
alternative  method  of  accomplishing  this,  which  is 
regularly  adopted  by  the  transferrers  of  some  few 
litho.  establishments  abroad. 

This  method  consists  of  washing  out  the  new 
transfer  as  before  over  the  dried  gum  film ; then  roll- 
ing up  the  whole  surface  of  the  plate  solid  black  by 
means  of  the  hand  roller.  This  permits  of  a full  firm 
layer  of  ink  being  applied  to  the  work,  because  in  this 
method  there  is  no  water  present  to  retard  or  diminish 
the  feeding  of  the  job  with  greasy  ink. 

In  attaining  this,  however,  one  has  necessarily  had 
to  also  ink  up  the  dried  gum  layer  on  the  plate  sur- 
face as  well  as  the  ink  work  of  the  transfer  interspersed 
amidst  it. 

An  objection  to  this  method  is  that  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  afterwards  dissolve  off:  the  dried  gum  layer 
from  the  plate  on  account  of  this  superimposed  layer  of 
black  ink  covering  it  up. 

As  an  offset  to  this,  however,  it  might  be  well  to 
mention  that  a special  roller  for  this  purpose  is  em- 
ployed by  some  concerns,  while  others  adopt  an  addi- 
tional set  of  damping  materials. 

To  a certain  extent  the  specific  value  of  transfer 
paper  depends  entirely  upon  local  conditions.  That 
which  might  be  of  the  utmost  value  to  one  litho- 


72 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


grapher  is  more  than  likely  to  fail  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  another  one.  With  transfer  paper, 
as  with  transfer  ink,  or  cleaning  solutions,  the  main 
point  is  to  grasp  the  general  principles  involved,  be- 
cause there  are  many  varieties  of  each,  and  all  of  them 
have  given  more  or  less  satisfaction  according  to  the 
taste  of  the  workman.  Any  intelligent  workman,  by 
adhering  to  the  broad  rules  of  the  trade,  is  enabled  to 
adapt  almost  any  legitimate  transfer  paper  to  his  im- 
mediate necessity.  It  is  most  important,  however, 
that  lithograph  transfer  paper,  of  whatever  variety, 
should  be  absolutely  impervious  to  the  transfer  com- 
position or  transfer  ink,  so  that  an  impression  of  full 
strength  may  be  conveyed,  leaving  the  greasy  proper- 
ties of  the  stone  or  plate  unimpaired.  The  paper  must 
of  necessity  undergo  special  preparation,  and  here 
again  the  character  of  the  work  and  the  conditions 
under  which  it  is  carried  out  are  the  chief  controlling 
elements.  Until  quite  recently  a great  many  litho- 
graphers preferred  to  make  their  own  transfer  paper, 
but  at  present  a majority  of  them  are  using  a manu- 
factured paper  that  has  given  eminent  satisfaction. 
Some  of  the  older  lithographers,  however,  make  their  own 
paper  by  using  a good  blank  double  foolscap  paper, 
first  thinly  coating  with  a solution  of  concentrated 
size  and  afterwards  varnishing  with  a heavy  coach  body 
varnish  which  gives  excellent  results.  Paper  thus  pre- 
pared rarely  stretches  or  becomes  distorted  to  any  ap- 
preciable extent  and  may  be  used  with  equally  good 
results  on  either  a cold  or  warm  surface. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


73 


When  transferring  large  work  in  which  a number 
of  printings  are  involved,  and  where  accuracy  of  regis- 
ter is  a sine  qua  non,  the  following  mixture  may  be 
substituted  for  the  coach  body : two  quarts  of  best  oak 
varnish ; one  pint  of  turpentine  and  one  pint  of  boiled 
linseed  oil.  Paper  thus  prepared  may  be  criticised  as 
a rather  old-fashioned  method,  but  of  the  transfer  pa- 
pers now  in  use,  none  can  claim  to  be  exactly  new. 

Photo-litho.  transfer  paper  is,  of  course,  in  every 
respect  a specific  article,  the  coating  of  which  consists 
of  a gelatineous  emulsion,  which  can  be  readily  sensi- 
tized, and  upon  which  a photographic  image  can  be 
developed.  Special  preparation  and  manipulation  are 
therefore  necessary  in  connection  with  its  production. 

In  transferring  on  aluminum,  work  which  is 
damped  in  the  book,  is  treated  in  all  respects  as  for 
zinc  or  stone.  For  regular  work  of  this  character  to 
be  transferred  to  damp  plate,  it  is  recommended  by 
some  printers  to  put  a little  common  washing  soda 
in  the  damping  water,  a teaspoonful  to  a quart  being 
sufficient  to  make  the  transfer  go  down  stronger.  A 
difficulty  which  is  not  always  so  easily  overcome  is  to 
damp  the  plate  so  that  no  streaks  of  water  or  loose 
fibre  which  come  so  easily  from  the  cloth  remain  on 
the  surface.  It  is  suggested  by  one  who  has  been  ac- 
customed to  use  both  aluminum  and  zinc  plates  that 
a sponge  of  the  softest  and  smoothest  quality  will  leave 
the  least  amount  of  fibre,  though  even  this  at  times 
may  leave  streaks  of  water.  The  following  plan,  if 
carried  out  strictly,  will  obviate  these  faults:  Make  a 
damping  book  of  good  thick  plate  paper  by  putting 


74 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


one  sheet,  passed  through  water,  to  two  dry  sheets,  or 
even  one  to  one.  When  equally  damp  through,  take 
one  of  these  sheets,  lay  it  on  the  plate,  and  pass 
through  the  press  under  very  light  pressure,  and  lift 
off.  This  method  of  damping  gives  a beautifully 
smooth  film  of  moisture.  The  transfer  is  then  laid 
down  and  passed  through  the  press  very  quickly  to 
prevent  it  rising.  After  the  transferring  process  has 
been  gone  through,  warm  water  is  poured  over  the 
plate,  so  that  the  transfer  paper  may  be  easily  lifted 
off,  the  plate  is  washed  clean,  then  dried,  and  given  a 
very  thin  coating  of  gum,  or  laid  aside  for  future 
preparation.  In  following  out  this  process,  if  any 
touching  up  is  required  it  should  be  done  before  apply- 
ing the  gum ; lines  may  be  joined  or  touched  up  by 
using  the  hardest  possible  lead  pencil,  four  H or  five 
H being  preferred,  while  other  parts  can  be  remedied 
with  a pen  or  brush  in  the  usual  way. 

Those  who  make  a specialty  of  the  aluminum 
plates,  place  the  plate  on  its  end,  when  the  transfer- 
ring is  done,  and  prepare  it  for  future  use  immediately. 
It  is  first  fanned  dry,  and  then  thinly  gummed  over 
and  washed  out  with  a wash  out  fluid  without  remov- 
ing the  gum,  and  of  course  without  using  any  water. 
A film  of  the  solution  is  allowed  to  remain  on  the  plate 
and  when  dry  again  it  is  washed  over  with  warm 
water,  which  removes  the  gum  along  with  the  super- 
fluous wash  out  fluid.  The  work  is  then  rolled  up  and 
etched  with  etching  solution,  then  dusted  with  either 
French  chalk  or  resin,  either  of  which  will  act  as  an 
acid  resist. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


75 


For  cleaning  up  aluminum  plates,  instead  of  us- 
ing the  ayrstone  and  scraper,  finger  marks  and  other 
slight  blemishes  are  removed  with  India  rubber  or 
charcoal  on  a piece  of  felt  or  soft  wood;  strong  spots 
and  lines  may  be  deleted  by  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid, 
or  a solution  composed  of  oxalic  acid  and  terra  di 
siena,  applied  with  a quill  or  glass  hair  pencil.  After 
the  work  is  cleaned  up,  it  is  etched  with  an  etching  so- 
lution which  is  immediately  washed  off,  the  plate  gum- 
med up,  and  it  is  then  ready  for  the  printer. 

For  direct  drawing  this  metal  is  slightly  warmed 
up  and  dusted  with  talc,  a soft  sponge  is  then  filled 
with  the  etching  solution  and  spread  quickly  over  the 
entire  plate,  the  solution  should  then  be  soaked  up  with 
the  sponge  until  there  is  very  little  remaining,  after 
which  the  plate  is  wiped  over  with  the  gum  sponge 
and  allowed  to  dry.  The  work  is  afterwards  washed 
out  with  the  wash  out  fluid  and  treated  as  already  de- 
scribed for  transfers. 

In  making  alterations  in  this  class  of  plates  the 
process  adopted  by  an  English  manufacturer,  and 
which  has  been  copied  to  some  extent  in  this  country, 
is  to  first  rinse  well  and  dry  and  then  apply  the  counter 
etching  solution,  allowing  it  to  act  for  five  minutes,  and 
then  go  over  the  plate  with  a cotton  pad.  The  real 
point  to  be  aimed  at  in  all  kinds  of  metal  plate  altera- 
tions— aluminum  and  zinc — in  deleting  the  work,  is  to 
get  the  parts  of  the  plate  required  for  alteration  in  the 
same  state  as  they  were  when  first  handled  for  trans- 
ferring. 

One  method  for  proving  and  preparing  work  on 


76 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


metal  plates  is  to  use  the  nap  rollers  exclusively,  al- 
though some  concerns  prefer  the  rubber  rollers.  When 
the  latter  are  used,  paraffin  oil  is  utilized  to  clean  them 
instead  of  turps,  and  they  are  afterwards  rubbed  dry 
with  magnesia. 

In  printing  from  metal  plates  of  any  descrip- 
tion, it  must  always  be  born  in  mind  that  a great  deal 
depends  on  the  intelligence  of  the  printer,  for,  as  with 
stones,  so  with  plates,  many  little  difficulties  will 
arise  from  time  to  time  in  connection  with  special 
work,  which  cannot  be  met  by  specific  rules  or  recipes ; 
these  must  be  met  as  they  arise,  and  overcome  in  the 
best  way  possible,  which  cannot  be  done  unless  those 
interested  in  lithography  keep  up  with  the  times.  A 
study  of  all  known  methods  and  the  adoption  of  worthy 
suggestions,  gathered  from  all  sources,  if  properly  ap- 
plied will  be  proof  of  the  skilfulness  of  the  apprentice 
as  well  as  the  veteran  lithographer. 

At  the  outset  the  transferrer  should  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  work  executed, 
by  carefully  examining  the  same  and  obtaining  all  pos- 
sible information  from  the  artist.  Upon  receipt  of  the 
plate  the  pressman  should  likewise  familiarize  himself 
with  the  work  in  hand.  This  method  of  co-operation 
prevents  friction  arising,  if  the  work  does  not  turn  out 
exactly  as  desired.  The  transferrer  cannot  blame  the 
artist  after  the  work  has  been  rolled  up,  and  on  the 
other  hand  the  responsibility  cannot  be  placed  on  the 
transferrer,  if,  before  treating  the  plate,  he  calls  at- 
tention to  work  which  in  his  opinion  is  not  likely  to 
prove  satisfactory.  It  would  be  well  if  this  rule  was 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


77 


strictly  adhered  to,  in  all  branches  of  lithography, 
where  work  passes  through  several  hands  for  comple- 
tion. If  the  artist  accepts  a plate  from  the  preparer; 
if  the  transferrer  accepts  a plate  from  the  artist ; or  if 
the  pressman  accepts  a plate  from  the  transferrer 
without  comment  at  the  time  he  receives  it,  then  he 
takes  upon  himself  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  job 
being  in  good  condition  at  the  time  it  was  given  into 
his  charge. 

As  a safeguard  against  uneven  etching  or  gum- 
ming up,  the  transferrer  should  commence  his  work  by 
again  gumming  up  the  plate  with  fresh  gum  arabic  so- 
lution, removing  the  old  gum  coating  at  the  same  ope- 
ration. The  plate  is  then  dried  by  fanning,  and  laid 
aside  while  the  press  is  made  ready  for  working. 

The  first  thing  to  consider  in  the  preparation  of 
the  press  is  the  bed  upon  which  the  plate  has  to  rest, 
and  one  of  the  most  suitable  articles  for  this  purpose 
is  the  cast  iron  bed,  which  can  be  obtained  from  all 
dealers  in  lithographic  supplies. 

In  the  event  of  an  iron  bed  not  being  handy,  a per- 
fectly level  lithographic  stone  may  be  used,  and  one 
that  is  nearest  in  size  to  the  metal  plate  about  to  be 
worked  from.  The  stone  may  be  placed  in  the  press 
and  the  plate  laid  upon  it.  Care  should  be  taken  that 
the  back  of  the  plate  and  the  face  of  the  stone  are 
clean  and  free  from  grit  or  other  foreign  bodies,  such 
as  bits  of  paper,  daubs  of  ink,  etc.,  which  sometimes 
make  their  appearance  inadvertently  on  the  surface  of 
the  plate  causing  serious  injury  to  the  work. 

The  placing  of  a sheet  of  paper  between  the  stone 


78 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


and  plate,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  paper  sometimes 
creases  or  crumbles  after  a few  pulls  have  been  made, 
has  not  found  favor  generally  as  it  sometimes  causes 
trouble  and  irritation. 

The  pressure  is  now  adjusted  and  the  scraper 
made  perfectly  level,  any  unevenness  in  the  latter  be- 
ing removed  with  the  aid  of  glass  paper. 

In  the  event  of  a stone  bed  being  used,  the  plate  is 
made  to  adhere  to  its  surface  by  damping  the  stone  and 
back  of  plate  and  run  both  through  the  press  with  a 
firm  pressure.  The  plate  can  then  be  used  without 
fear  of  slipping. 

The  press  being  adjusted  and  clean  water  and 
sponges  in  readiness,  the  washing  out  is  proceeded 
with.  Wash  off  the  thick  gum,  and  re-gum  the  plate 
with  a very  thin,  even  coating.  Then  fan  the  plate 
perfectly  dry,  and  thoroughly  remove  all  traces  of 
moisture.  Carefully  wipe  the  edges  of  the  bed  so  that 
there  can  be  no  possibility  of  moisture  coming  in  con- 
tact with  the  gum  covering,  owing  to  overlapping  of 
rags  in  the  subsequent  operations.  Now  take  a clean, 
perfectly  dry  rag  or  other  soft  material,  such  as  felt 
or  flannel,  and  wash  out  the  drawing  with  pure  tur- 
pentine, using  no  water  to  assist  its  action.  Proceed 
with  the  washing  out,  turning  the  rag  occasionally,  un- 
til the  whole  of  the  drawing  ink  has  been  removed  and 
the  plate  presents  a clean  surface.  This  is  an  operation 
that  requires  extreme  care,  the  slightest  trace  of  water 
appearing  on  the  surface  at  this  stage  might  possibly 
destroy  the  whole  job. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


79 


The  plate  must  be  dried  by  fanning,  and  then  roll- 
ed up  perfectly  solid,  without  damping,  with  a roller 
charged  with  an  ink  of  from  thin  to  medium  consis- 
tency. The  plate,  at  this  point,  presents  a dense  black 
appearance,  resembling  an  ink  slab.  Sprinkle  a little 
water  on  and  roll  up  again  ; it  will  at  once  be  noticed 
that  wherever  the  water  has  touched,  the  plate  appears 
clean,  and  only  requires  frequent  damping  and  rolling 
to  entirely  clear  the  design  of  the  ink  and  gum  sur- 
rounding it.  The  roller  should  be  scraped  and  a few 
impressions  taken,  when  the  work  should  be  nice  and 
sharp  and  the  plate  free  from  scum. 

A variation  of  the  above  method  is  to  pull  an  im- 
pression from  the  plate  after  it  has  been  covered  with 
ink.  The  plate  will  then  appear  grey.  The  plate 
should  then  be  damped  with  the  damping  cloth,  and 
another  impression  pulled  and  it  will  then  be  noticed 
that  the  plate  has  cleared  considerably.  Repeat  these 
operations  until  the  work  is  sharp  and  satisfactory. 

Another  method  of  washing  out  a drawing  to 
avoid  weakness  is  to  wash  off  the  ink  with  turpentine 
as  before  mentioned,  taking  great  care  not  to  injure  the 
gum  coating  by  allowing  water  to  get  on  the  surface  of 
the  plate.  Then  cover  the  plate  with  a greasy  coating, 
such  as  palm  oil,  asphaltum  solution,  or  retransfer  ink, 
using  turpentine  to  reduce  the  same  to  a proper  con- 
sistency. When  the  plate  has  coated  with  a thin 
solution  of  either  of  these,  or  any  other  solution,  the 
litho  printer  may  have  at  hand,  it  should  be  fanned  dry 
to  evaporate  the  turpentine.  Now  roll  up  until  per- 


80 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


fectly  solid  and  black,  apply  a little  water,  and  roll 
up  again  until  it  is  perfectly  clear  and  sharp. 

The  transferrer  must  bear  in  mind,  whenever  it 
is  necessary  to  work  out  the  drawing,  never  to  use 
dirty  cloths.  A quantity  of  specially  clean  rags  should 
be  reserved  for  washing  out  purposes  and  every  care 
should  be  taken  to  keep  them  in  a clean  condition. 
When  the  rolling  up  is  completed  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  transferrer,  the  work  is  well  dusted  with  French 
chalk  and  then  given  a slight  etch  with  an  acid  consist- 
ing of  2 pints  of  nut-gall  solution,  i pint  of  gum  arabic 
solution,  and  i ounce  of  phosphoric  acid. 

The  plate  is  etched  in  the  same  manner  as  stone, 
then  thoroughly  washed,  gummed  and  fanned  dry.  In 
cleaning  up  it  is  well  to  remove  any  dirt  by  acid 
or  a piece  of  india  rubber  and  powdered  pumice  stone; 
small  specs  can  be  cleaned  away  with  a sharp  pointed 
piece  of  wood,  which  has  been  dipped  in  the  etching 
solution  or  into  powdered  pumice  stone. 

Again  roll  up  the  plate,  using  a good  nap  or  india 
rubber  roller.  Fan  dry,  dust  over  with  French  chalk, 
etch,  gum  up,  and  fan  dry  again. 

If  the  preceding  instructions  have  been  carefully 
carried  out  and  the  artist  is  satisfied  that  no  additions 
or  erasure  are  necessary,  the  next  step  of  proving,  or 
the  making  o’f  set-offs,  can  be  started. 

The  usual  method  of  making  set-offs  is  a simple 
operation.  A number  of  impressions  are  made  from 
the  key  plate  on  a well-rolled  bright  enamel  paper. 
These  impressions  are  then  dusted  with  a red  chalk 
powder  by  rolling  a quantity  of  the  powder  over  the 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


81 


sheet,  and  giving  the  back  of  the  paper  several  sharp 
taps  with  the  hand  to  remove  superfluous  dust  from 
the  surface.  The  dusted  impressions  are  afterwards 
pulled  through  on  a slightly  dampened  plate — the  re- 
sult being  that  a faint  impression  of  the  design  in  red 
chalk  is  left  on  the  plate.  This  method  has  worked 
successfully  for  the  litho.  stone,  and  has  been  fairly 
satisfactory  for  metal  plates,  although  one  of  the  chief 
objections,  from  the  artist’s  point  of  view,  is  that  the 
red  chalk  is  not  sufficiently  distinct  on  the  gray  col- 
ored plate.  Another  is  that  the  set-off  is  easily  re- 
moved should  it  by  accident  be  slightly  rubbed.  A 
third  objection  is  that  the  small  particles  of  powder 
adhere  to  the  brush  and  pens  of  the  artist,  and  so  pre- 
vent free  working. 

One  of  the  most  effective  methods  of  making  set- 
offs on  metal  plates  is  the  one  about  to  be  described, 
and  one  that  has  been  recommended  by  skilled  work- 
ers on  metal  plates. 

Pull  the  impressions  from  the  key-stone  on  well 
rolled  enamel  paper  as  before;  these  are  then  dusted 
over  with  the  set-off  powder  by  rolling  a quantity  of 
the  powder  over  the  sheet  and  then  rubbing  with  a 
tuft  of  cotton  wool  or  a camel-hair  brush.  The  idea 
is  to  thoroughly  incorporate  the  powder  with  the  ink 
on  the  paper,  and  to  remove  any  stray  particles  that 
may  remain.  The  impression  is  then  ready  for  trans- 
ferring. 

Set  a plate  in  the  press,  taking  all  precautions  as 
before  described ; damp  the  plate  slightly,  and  after 
placing  the  set-off  in  position,  transfer  by  pulling 
through  the  press  once  with  a firm  pressure. 


82 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


The  set-off  will  now  appear  on  the  plate  in  a blue 
color  (though  other  colors  are  obtainable)  ; the  plate 
requires  no  further  treatment,  and  is  in  a fit  condition 
for  the  artist  to  work  upon. 

The  advantages  derived  from  the  use  of  this  pow- 
der are  many,  perhaps  the  principal  being  that  the  im- 
pression is  permanent.  It  can  be  handled  with  much 
freedom,  and  cannot  be  rubbed.  It  can  also  be  washed 
with  water  and  yet  be  distinctly  seen.  Another  good 
point  about  this  powder  is  that  no  dust  remains  on 
the  plate  to  clog  the  pens  or  brushes. 

A third  system  of  making  set-offs,  specially  appli- 
cable for  chalk  drawings,  and  one  which  is  said  to  give 
good  results,  is  to  take  an  impression  from  the  key- 
stone in  a colored  ink  similar  to  the  color  to  be  printed. 
For  instance,  if  a set-off  has  to  be  made  for  the  red 
plate,  a print  is  taken  in  red  ink.  If  for  the  blue,  the 
key  impression  is  made  in  blue,  and  so  on.  These 
prints  are  made  upon  good  strong  paper,  and  pulled 
with  a fair  amount  of  ink  on.  When  ready,  a clean 
sheet  of  metal  is  set  in  the  press,  washed  over  with  oil 
of  turpentine,  and  pulled  through  the  press  with  a 
clean  sheet  of  paper  on  top.  This  will  remove  the  tur- 
pentine, but  should  any  remain  fan  the  plate  until  it 
evaporates.  Now  lay  the  printed  sheet  in  position  and 
pull  through  the  press  with  a good  firm  pressure.  A 
good  colored  outline  on  the  plate  should  be  the  result. 

Let  the  plate  stand  for  a few  hours,  and  then  wash 
well  with  turpentine  to  remove  every  trace  of  the  ink. 
Fan  the  plate  dry  and  the  key  will  be  visible  without 
ink,  and  the  artist  has  a clear  impression  to  work  to 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


83 


without  fear  of  the  chalks  being  smeared  with  colored 
powder.  There  need  be  no  fear  of  this  key  stain  work- 
ing up  in  the  rolling  when  the  drawing  is  completed. 
The  etching  entirely  destroys  any  slight  trace  of  grease 
that  may  remain.  The  key  impression  will  remain  in 
the  plate  for  a considerable  period. 

In  the  event  of  alterations  being  necessary  to  the 
existing  work,  roll  up  the  plate  and  chalk  well.  The 
parts  that  require  erasing  are  removed  with  a small 
quantity  of  powdered  pumice  stone  applied  with  a 
piece  of  felt,  or  else  polished  lightly  with  a slip  of 
snakestone. 

Another  method  is  to  erase  the  parts  with  a solu- 
tion of  caustic  soda. 

When  this  has  been  accomplished  satisfactorily, 
wash  the  plate  well  under  the  tap  and  dry.  Resensi- 
tize with  a solution  consisting  of — citric  acid,  oz. ; 
distilled  or  boiled  water,  i pint.  Leave  the  solution  on 
the  plate  for  a few  moments  and  then  well  wash,  as- 
sisting same  with  a tuft  of  cotton  wool.  Dry  the 
plate,  and  it  is  in  a fit  condition  for  the  artist  to  work 
upon. 

When  the  artist  has  completed  the  corrections, 
dust  over  with  French  chalk,  and  give  a slight  etch 
with  the  etching  solution  previously  described  for  the 
artist’s  use.  Gum  up  the  work,  dry  and  proceed  as 
required. 

Transferring  to  metal  plates  presents  no  difficulty 
if  the  ordinary  amount  of  care  is  exercised  in  the  ope- 
rations. As  in  every  other  branch  of  the  art,  cleanli- 
ness must  be  strictly  adhered  to.  Damping  cloths 


84 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


must  be  well  washed  and  sponges  kept  perfectly  clean. 
They  must  not  be  laid  indiscriminately  on  any  portion 
of  the  press  or  surroundings.  A good  plan  is  to  obtain 
a sheet  of  plain  paper  and  lay  them  on  this ; there  need 
then  be  no  fear  of  their  coming  in  contact  with  acids 
that  may  have  been  spilled  on  the  press  or  tables. 

Next,  pay  attention  to  the  hand-roller;  scrape,  and 
work  up  with  a little  fresh  ink.  Also  test  the  scraper 
and  make  it  true. 

Before  the  plates  are  used  they  should  be  well 
washed  under  the  water  tap  and  dried.  Place  the  plate 
on  the  ordinary  cast-iron  bed  or  litho.  stone,  after 
taking  care  that  no  dust  or  dirt  is  on  the  face  of  bed 
or  back  of  plate.  Set  the  pressure  a little  heavier  than 
is  usual  for  stone,  and  all  is  ready  for  transferring. 

All  transfers  should  be  pulled  full  and  sharp ; 
writings  and  drawings  on  transfer  paper  should  be 
done  in  a good  strong  ink. 

Proceed  with  the  transferring  in  the  usual  way — 
either  damping  the  plate  or  placing  the  transfers  in  a 
damp  book.  If  the  transfer  consists  of  many  fine  lines, 
the  back  plate  can  be  warmed  over  a gas  flame  or  in 
front  of  a fire,  before  the  paper  and  composition  are 
removed.  This  will  give  the  work  a much  firmer  hold. 

When  the  transfer  paper  and  composition  have 
been  soaked  off,  dry  the  plate,  and  do  what  touching- 
up  is  necessary.  If  the  work  is  in  a satisfactory  con- 
dition, and  appears  strong  and  firm,  it  can  be  etched 
slightly  with  an  acid  consisting  of — nut-gall  solution, 
I pint;  gum  solution,  y2  pint;  and  phosphoric  acid, 
y2  oz ; water,  i pint. 


Transferring  on  Metal  Plates 


85 


But  if  the  transfer  is  of  a fine  character,  proceed 
with  the  rolling-up.  Gum  the  plate  up  and  dry;  then 
wash  the  gum  off  and  gum  up  again  very  thinly;  fan 
dry  and  wash  out  with  pure  oil  of  turpentine,  taking 
care  that  no  moisture  of  any  description  comes  in  con- 
tact with  the  gum  coating.  Roll  up  the  plate  perfectly 
solid  and  black,  then  sprinkle  on  a little  water  and 
continue  the  rolling  until  clear  and  sharp. 


i 


Proving 


UNDER  the  head  of  Proving  we  can  give  a few 
general  rules  and  hints  on  the  working  of  metal 
plates  in  the  transfer  press.  Little  need  be  written  at 
this  time  on  the  mixing  and  matching  of  colors  and 
other  matters  of  general  experience,  the  object  being 
to  simply  point  out  the  little  differences  between  this 
process  and  that  of  working  from  stone. 

In  the  first  place,  look  to  your  roller,  and  make 
sure  it  is  adapted  to  the  work  in  hand.  Keep  it  in  good 
condition  by  applying  a stiff  brush  now  and  then.  In- 
dia rubber  rollers  are  good,  but  they  require  consider- 
able attention  to  keep  them  in  condition.  For  clean- 
ing purposes  use  paraffin,  and  after  drying  with  clean 
cloth,  dust  over  with  French  chalk.  The  life  of  an  In- 
dia rubber  roller  is  much  shorter  than  those  with 
leather  coverings.  Therefore,  for  good,  serviceable 
use  the  nap  roller  finds  satisfaction  in  most  quarters. 

Have  the  inks  a little  stiffer  than  for  stone  work. 
Clean  cloths  and  surroundings  are  essential.  The 
plate  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand  with  a damp  sur- 
face ; if  the  work  has  to  be  left  for  a few  moments  al- 
ways gum  up  evenly  and  'fan  dry. 

86 


Proving 


87 


If  trouble  arises  owing  to  the  presence  of  scum, 
add  a little  tannic  acid  to  the  damping  water.  Or  the 
addition  of  a little  magnesia  or  starch  to  the  ink  will 
help  to  remedy  this  evil.  Other  remedies  for  scum- 
ming are  the  use  of  vinegar,  cold  tea,  and  stale  beer  in 
the  damping  water.  If  the  scum  is  not  easily  removed, 
roll  up  in  black,  dust  with  French  chalk  and  give  the 
plate  a sharp  etch  with  the  nut-gall  etching  solution,  fan 
dry,  gum  up  and  again  fan  dry,  then  proceed. 

Sometimes  trouble  is  caused  through  the  edges  of 
the  plate  taking  the  ink,  and  applications  of  the  va- 
rious etching  solutions  fail  to  keep  them  clean.  When 
such  is  the  case  the  use  of  a solution  of  caustic  soda 
will  be  found  very  beneficial. 

A frequent  cause  of  spoilage  of  designs  upon 
plates  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  sufficient  care  is  not 
exercised  in  the  washing-out  process.  Occasionally,  it 
will  happen  that  the  plate  is  gummed  up  with  a thick 
coating,  which  prevents  the  turpentine  from  penetrat- 
ing sufficiently  to  remove  the  inks.  The  plate  pre- 
sents a patchy  appearance  and  the  workman  loses  his 
patience  and  applies  a little  water  to  assist  matters. 
The  result  is  disastrous  to  good  work.  If  not  at  once 
apparent,  the  edges  of  the  design  in  a short  time  will 
present  a feathery  appearance,  and  the  finer  lines  will 
lose  their  sharpness.  Therefore,  immediately  the  wash- 
ing out  has  been  completed,  roll  up  the  plate  in  black 
ink,  chalk  and  etch. 

The  moral  is  to  gum  up  the  plate  very  thinly  and 
evenly ; do  not  use  a strong  grease  for  washing  out  un- 


88 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


less  the  work  is  weakly.  Ordinary  printing  inks  of 
good  quality  are  sufficiently  strong  for  average  pur- 
poses. 


Transfer  Paper 

THE  matter  of  selecting  transfer  papers  is  one  that 
should  not  be  overlooked,  and  which  is  reiterated 
in  this  chapter.  The  papers  mostly  in  favor  at  the 
present  time  for  general  work  are  those  of  the  ever- 
damp  variety.  This  class  of  paper  has  many  good 
qualities  that  appeal  to  the  litho.  printer. 

The  first  good  point  of  ever-damp  papers,  is  that 
the  surface  is  soft  and  yielding.  By  this  means  the 
composition  sinks  into  the  plate,  completely  surround- 
ing the  design,  and  so  obtains  a perfect  impression 
without  squash  or  undue  thickening  of  any  part.  Then 
the  fact  that  no  damping  is  required  when  transferring 
is  another  point  in  its  favor.  There  is  also  less  pres- 
sure required  when  pulling  transfers  or  transferring. 
These  are  time  and  labor  saving  qualities  worthy  of 
consideration.  One  of  the  latest  products  in  this  class 
of  transfer  paper  is  a sort  of  combination  of  French 
transfer  tracing  and  moist  re-transfer  and  is  specially 
useful  for  color  work,  having  all  the  qualities  of  var- 
nish paper  with  none  of  its  drawbacks. 


Re-transferring 


/CONSIDERING  the  rapid  perfection  of  the  rubber 
v.><  offset  press,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  chronicle  a 
good  method  of  transferring  from  left  to  right.  By 
laying  a properly  prepared  metal  plate  directly  upon 
the  stone  upon  which  an  engraving  or  drawing  has  been 
made  (of  course  having  previously  been  charged  with 
transfer  ink)  placing  the  usual  backing  sheets  upon  it, 
and  pulling  through  the  press  with  strong  pressure,  an 
impression  wall  be  obtained  thereon  equal  in  every  re- 
spect to  the  original.  The  counterpart  of  the  original 
is  now  to  be  treated  precisely  the  same  as  any  other 
transfer  made  on  metal  plates ; that  is  to  say,  it  should 
be  gummed  up  lightly,  dried,  washed  off  with  water 
and  strengthened  by  rolling  up.  The  completed  trans- 
fer is  only  to  serve  as  an  original  from  which  the  regu- 
lar transfer  impressions  are  to  be  made  by  the  aid  of 
the  regular  transfer  paper  to  another  plate,  or  stone. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  method  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  squash  an  impression  from  one  piece  of  paper 
to  another,  for  the  transferrer  now  has  two  plates  to 
work  from,  if  he  is  contemplating  a “from  left  to  right 
transfer” ; at  any  event  he  is  working  from  an  original, 
as  near  as  the  term  can  be  applied. 

89 


90 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


By  the  above  process  we  understand  a mode  of 
transferring  which  is  to  complete,  for  instance,  the 
right  half  of  a drawing  or  engraving,  of  which  the  left 
half  only  was  made,  or  perhaps  one-quarter  only  was 
necessary  to  engrave,  and  all  the  rest  was  left  for  the 
transferrer  to  complete.  It  is  possible  to  get.  good  re- 
sults from  plates  not  processed,  of  course,  but  it  is  ad- 
visable to  secure  these  plates  from  competent  plate- 
makers,  who  know  exactly  what  is  needed  in  this  work, 
and  any  kinking,  or  other  troubles  that  often  follow 
home-made  plates,  is  obviated.  In  completing  these 
“left  to  right  transfers”  the  plate  is  taken  from  the 
stone  and  thoroughly  cleansed,  then  rubbed  down  with 
pumice  powder  and  a ball  of  paper,  or  a felt  pad,  and 
water;  again  rinsed,  flowing  in  a citric  acid  solution, 
say  15-20  parts  chemically  pure  citric  acid  (crystals)  in 
100  parts  water.  .Care  must  be  taken  to  apply  this  so- 
lution evenly.  After  three  minutes  the  plate  may  be 
rinsed  again,  taking  chemically  purified  cotton  to  rub 
the  plate  dry,  the  object  being  to  remove  all  traces  of 
crystalline  metal.  A thoroughly  dry  cloth  is  finally 
used  to  complete  the  drying,  and  the  plate  must  then 
show  no  stripes  or  spots,  if  a thoroughly  serviceable 
original  transfer  is  desired. 

Should  it  happen  that  the  first  effort  did  not  re- 
sult in  a successful  original,  the  plate  can  be  again  used 
by  removing  the  ink  with  turpentine  and  a rag,  then 
using  another  rag  with  benzine,  which  will  take  out  all 
the  grease,  finally  using  pumice  powder;  the  plate  is 
given  a good  polish  with  that,  again  rinsed,  and  pre- 
pared with  the  citric  acid  solution. 


Re-transferring 


91 


In  the  event  that  a plate  has  been  standing  a long 
time  with  a transfer  upon  it,  it  should  be  treated,  after 
the  turpentine  and  benzine  application,  with  a flooding 
of  hot  soda  in  order  to  saponify  the  settled  fat,  which 
might  have  drawn  into  the  plate. 

A great  many  ideas  about  the  various  methods  of 
transferring  have  been  set  forth  in  this  chapter,  and 
while,  as  we  have  previously  stated,  there  is  no  hard 
and  fast  rule — every  transferrer  having  his  own  ideas 
about  the  way  his  work  should  be  performed — there  is 
enough  material  to  interest  the  man  who  is  seeking 
light  on  the  way  other  people  work. 


r 


Re-transferring  from  Type 


WHILE  there  has  always  been  some  demand  for 
transfers  from  type  in  the  lithographic  estab- 
lishments of  the  country,  the  advent  of  the  offset  press 
has  increased  the  use  of  such  transfers  very  largely. 

Of  course  all  type  transfers  have  to  be  reversed 
for  the  offset  press.  The  type  page,  from  the  first  in- 
troduction of  movable  type,  has  been  “negative.”  To 
imprint  direct  on  paper  would,  of  course,  be  “positive.” 
The  difficulty  of  re-transferring  from  the  type  form  to 
the  metal  plate  of  the  offset  press  has  discouraged  many 
good  transferrers.  Fortunately  considerable  progress 
has  been  made  in  this  part  of  the  business  and  many 
difficulties  have  been  overcome. 

When  the  offset  press  was  first  introduced  it  was  the 
prevailing  custom  to  reverse  the  type  forms  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  the  old  engravings  were  reversed — the 
paper  to  paper  method.  Of  course  a type  press  of  some 
kind  had  to  be  used,  as  the  pressure  in  type  printing — 
except  in  the  case  of  the  cylinder  press — is  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  that  used  in  stone  printing.  It  is  practically 
impossible  to  print  a type  form  on  a lithographic  trans- 
fer press — the  same  thing  applies  to  an  attempt  to  print 
from  stone  on  a type  press.  The  one  calls  for  a direct 
pressure  and  the  other  for  a “scraping”  or  sliding  motion. 

92 


Re-transferring  from  Type 


93 


As  the  average  lithographic  transferrer  had  little  or 
no  knowledge  of  type  printing,  and  as  the  type  printer 
had  no  knowledge  of  lithography  it  usually  took  two  men 
to  make  a transfer  from  a type  form  to  a printing  plate. 
This  condition  still  exists,  for  that  matter,  especially 
where  fine  work  is  to  be  transferred. 

In  the  “paper  to  paper”  process  it  is  best  to  have  the 
page  or  form  to  be  printed  “made  ready”  on  a type  press 
by  a type  pressman.  This  should  be  done  with  ordinary 
type  ink.  See  that  every  letter  shows  up  plainly  on  the 
proof  and  that  the  cuts  print  clear  and  clean.  Make  the 
impression  light,  but  not  so  light  that  there  will  be  any- 
thing omitted.  Now  wash  the  type  ink  off  carefully  and 
thoroughly  and  ink  up  the  rollers  with  transfer  ink  and 
pull  an  impression  on  dry  transfer  paper.  Place  this  im- 
pression face  down  on  a piece  of  damp  transfer  paper 
and  run  the  two  pieces  through  the  transfer  press  with 
a firm  pressure.  The  damp  sheet  will  now  show  the  form 
in  the  negative  and  ready  to  put  down  on  the  printing 
plate  of  the  offset  press. 

In  the  transferring  of  the  positive  image  on  the 
dry  sheet  of  transfer  paper  to  the.  negative  on  the  damp 
sheet  there  is  always  great  danger  of  “squashing”  it  and 
spoiling  the  transfer.  This  danger  is  so  great  that  many 
efforts  have  been  made  to  do  away  with  the  process  en- 
tirely. 

Probably  the  most  successful  method  of  making  a 
re-transfer  from  type  is  known  as  the  rubber  blanket 
method.  This  is  practically  the  same  as  that  previously 
mentioned,  with  this  exception : In  the  place  of  the  dry 
piece  of  transfer  paper  upon  which  the  type  impression. is 


94 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


taken,  a piece  of  rubber  printing  blanket  is  used.  This 
is  laid  smoothly  upon  the  tympan  of  the  printing  press 
and  a light  impression  is  made  upon  it  with  transfer  ink. 
The  regular  offset  blanket  is  best  to  use.  This  impres- 
sion, of  course,  appears  in  the  positive.  Now  place  the 
rubber  blanket  in  the  transfer  press  and  lay  a dampened 
piece  of  transfer  paper  on  it  face  down.  Pull  it  through 
and  you  have  the  negative  transfer  that  is  used  to  lay 
down  on  the  printing  plate  of  the  offset  press.  This 
method  has  been  found  to  be  very  successful  and  one 
enterprising  transferrer  has  patented  a machine  for 
stretching  and  holding  the  rubber  blanket  taut  while  the 
impression  is  being  taken.  The  machine  is  well  worth 
all  that  is  asked  for  it  as  it  facilitates  matters  consider- 
ably. By  this  rubber  blanket  method  a perfect  transfer 
can  be  made  nearly  every  time  if  a little  care  is  taken. 

Still  another  method  is  known  as  the  zinc  plate 
process.  This  is  done  by  substituting  a soft,  thin  zinc 
plate  for  the  rubber  blanket,  pulling  an  impression  direct 
from  the  type  on  the  plate  and  then  taking  the  negative 
transfers  from  the  plate  for  putting  down  on  the  print- 
ing plate  of  the  offset  press.  One  great  advantage  of 
this  method  is  that  the  plates  can  be  laid  away  and  kept 
as  originals  in  case  the  work  should  ever  have  to  be 
duplicated. 

A transferrer  is  one  of  the  most  important  ad- 
juncts to  successful  lithographing  and  the  transferrer 
who  can  do  the  same  thing  in  more  ways  than  one  is 
the  man  sought  these  days.  As  nearly  every  conceiv- 
able mode  of  transferring  has  been  touched  upon  here 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  man  who  has  never  had  any- 


The  Mode  of  Printing 


95 


thing  to  do  with  metal  plates  ought  not  to  familiarize 
himself  with  the  latest  plan  of  operation.  If  he  is  in- 
terested in  his  woriiand  desires  to  keep  up  to  the  times 
a close  study  of  the  schemes  here  outlined  will,  we 
trust,  be  of  value  to  him  in  promoting  his  ambition. 


Metal  Plates  and  the  Offset  Press 
The  Mode  of  Printing 

HE  rubber  blanket  offset  printing  press,  the  latest 


product  of  the  press  maker’s  ingenuity,  has  as  its 
basis  the  substitution  of  metal  plates  for  lithographic 
stones.  Without  metal  plates  the  rubber  blanket  press 
would  be  impossible,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  well  to 
bear  in  mind  the  very  important  part  that  these  plates 
play  in  modern  lithography.  The  method  of  preparing 
metal  plates  for  the  various  stages  of  printing  have  been 
fully  set  forth  in  other  chapters.  After  the  plates  have 
been  prepared  and  the  work  transferred  and  rolled 
up,  as  described  elsewhere,  and  it  is  gummed  up  and 
allowed  to  dry,  it  is  then  ready,  after  washing  out, 
for  printing. 

The  process  of  printing  by  the  offset  press  is  by 
no  means  a difficult  one.  In  fact  when  it  is  carefully 
studied  one  is  surprised  at  the  simplicity  of  the  whole 
affair. 

Three  cylinders,  one  to  carry  the  printing  plate, 
another  to  carry  the  rubber  blanket,  and  a third  to 
carry  the  sheet  and  effect  the  impression  from  the 
rubber  blanket  to  the  paper,  is  all  that  is  required. 
The  fewer  the  additional  parts,  the  better  the  press  and 
the  more  easily  it  will  be  learned  and  understood.  Of 


96 


Illustrations  of  Offset  Presses 


Rutherford  Offset  Press 

Manufactured  by 

FUCHS  & I/ANG  MANUFACTURING  CO. 
New  York  City 


Sizes  Made:  28  x 34  ; 28  x 42. 


Manufactured  by 

THE  HATE  PRINTING  PRESS  COMPANY 
Dunellen,  N.  J. 


Hall  Rotary  Offset  Press 


Sizes  Made  : 28  x 36  ; 35  x 48. 


Harris  Automatic  Offset  Press 

Manufactured  by 

THE  HARRIS  AUTOMATIC  PRESS  COMPANY 
Niles,  Ohio 


Sizes  Made:  14x17;  22  x 28;  24  x 34;  28  x 34. 


The  Hoe  Rotary  Offset  Press 

Manufactured  by 
R . HOE  & CO. 

New  York  City 


Sizes  Made  : 22  x 34  ; 28  x 40. 


Kellogg  Rotary  Offset  Press 

Manufactured  by 
ANDREW  H.  KEEEOGG  CO. 
New  York  City 


Sizes  Made:  34  x 38  ; 34  x 58 


Manufactured  by 

POTTER  PRINTING  PRESS  COMPANY 
Plainfield,  N.  J. 


Potter  Rotary  Offset  Press 


Sizes  Made  : 28  x 34  ; 30  x 42  : 34  x 44. 


Scott  Rotary  Offset  Press 

Manufactured  by 
WAI/TER  SCOTT  & COMPANY 
Plainfield,  N.  J. 


Sizes  Made  : 28  x 38  ; 32  x 46  ; 36  x 50. 


The  Offset  Press 


109 


course  there  are  a certain  number  of  gears,  shafts,  and 
rollers,  etc.,  but  primarily  the  press  consists  of  three 
cylinders. 

There  are  several  features  of  offset  lithography 
that  assure  it  permanency  as  a lasting  feature  of  the 
trade.  In  the  first  place  the  rapidity  of  the  work  and 
the  fact  that  the  output  of  the  press  can  be  handled 
almost  immediately  after  it  is  printed  gives  it  a place 
in  lithography  that  has  heretofore  been  vacant.  The 
fact  that  rough  paper  can  be  handled,  and  a clear,  clean 
and  sharp  impression  secured  without  the  punching 
through  that  is  bound  to  occur  where  type  or  plates 
are  used  or  the  omissions  of  parts  of  the  work  where 
stone  is  used,  makes  this  process  of  the  utmost  value 
to  lithographic  establishments.  When  you  take  into 
consideration  the  fact  that  a metal  plate  takes  the  place 
and  does  the  work  of  a stone  costing  many  times  as 
much,  and  all  danger  of  breakage  is  eliminated,  and  the 
plate  can  be  stored  in  a fraction  of  the  space  required 
by  the  stone,  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  why  every- 
body  in  the  trade  ought  to  be  interested  in  the  metal 
plate  question. 

When  it  is  taken  into  consideration  that  the  rough- 
est as  well  as  the.  hardest  papers  can  now  be  made  to 
take  up  the  ink  impression  in  perfect  solidity  and 
sharpness,  and  with  the  use  of  only  about  one-third 
the  usual  amount  of  ink  on  the  work  that  would  be 
necessary  if  printed  direct  from  stone  by  the  flatbed  or 
direct  rotary  machines,  then  the  vast  importance  of  the 
offset  method  will  be  at  once  apparent.  This  power 
of  securing  a more  solid  and  sharp  impression  with  a 


110 


Metal  Plate  Printing 

less  volume  of  ink  preserves  the  work  on  the  plate,  as  it 
does  not  have  to  be  fed  with  an  overplus  of  ink  to  fill  in 
the  pores  of  the  paper  during  impression,  as  is  the  case 
when  printing  direct  from  the  actual  printing  surface 
to  paper,  and,  consequently,  the  trouble  of  filling-in, 
scumming,  and  thickening  of  the  work  is  virtually  pre- 
vented by  removing  the  chief  cause.  This  means 
longer  runs  without  deterioration  of  the  work,  and  less 
trouble  for  the  machine  man  in  applying  solutions  and 
antidotes  to  both  ink  and  dampening  water,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  economy  effected  in  the  amount  of  ink 
consumed.  As  either  zinc  or  aluminum  plates  are  em- 
ployed as  the  printing  surface,  an  additional  economy 
is  here  effected  over  the  use  of  stones. 

So  elastic  and  adaptive  is  this  rubber  offset  im- 
pression method  that  such  uneven  surfaced  papers  as 
imitation  crocodile  skin  embossed  papers  are  per- 
fectly printed  upon,  even  with  such  work  as  fine  copper- 
plate headings,  and  without  destroying  the  indent 
markings  of  this  peculiar  paper — a feat  unattainable 
by  any  other  known  process  of  printing.  With  such 
absorbent  papers  as  common  brown  wrapping  paper 
we  have  secured  a perfectly  flat  and  solid  impression 
with  the  thinnest  film  of  ink  on  the  forms.  There  is 
absolutely  no  need  for  etching  the  work  into  high 
relief : in  fact,  this  would  be  a drawback  for  this  class 
of  machine,  as  the  rubber  blanket  would  soon  become  in- 
dented and  rendered  uneven  for  succeeding  work. 

The  sheets  receive  much  less  pressure  than  they 
would  do  if  printed  direct  by  the  old  method,  and  as 
the  rubber  impresses  the  ink  most  delicately  to  the 


The  Offset  Press 


111 


paper — similar  to  the  fleshy  pad  of  the  human  finger — 
there  is  less  stretching  and  distortion  of  the  paper 
during  printing,  less  risk  of  creasing  and  overlapping 
and  so  much  better  register  can  be  obtained  for  color 
work  on  plain  papers. 

But  the  merits  of  the  offset  machine  are  not 
alone  confined  to  the  improvements  effected  with  the 
old  form  of  work.  For  example,  lithographers  can  now 
accomplish  with  photo-mechanical  half-tone  work 
what  has  hitherto  baffled  the  typographers  to  attain, 
that  is,  they  can  print  ordinary  half-tone  images  on 
plain  uncoated  papers,  free  from  the  injurious  gloss 
and  glare  of  the  highly  glazed  coated  papers  now  in 
universal  use  for  this  work.  Thin  paper  can  be  used 
as  successfully  as  thicker  paper,  and  thus  both  the 
weight  and  the  bulk  of  the  printed  sheets  will  be  most 
materially  reduced. 

In  printing  half-tone  work  by  the  rubber  litho- 
graphic principle,  we  get  a pure  solid  dot  impression, 
not,  as  with  the  typographic  process,  the  raised  point 
of  the  half-tone  forced  partially  into  the  glazed  paper 
surface,  so  that  the  center  of  the  dot  becomes  denuded 
of  its  ink,  as  this  has,  during  the  act  of  impress,  be- 
come squeezed  out  around  the  outer  edge,  in  the  form 
of  a very  obtruding  penumbra.  This  drawback  is  eli- 
minated by  the  offset  method  and  if  use  is  made  of  the 
high  light  and  sensitive  process  method,  we  have  the 
most  perfect  half-tone  printing  methods  extant. 

When  the  first  steam  or  power  press  was  introduced 
in  this  country  about  forty  years  ago,  like  most  new  in 
ventions,  it  was  greeted  with  the  utmost  contempt  and 


112 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


condemnation  by  the  lithographers  who  failed  to  see  any- 
thing good  in  the  new  order  of  things.  However,  the 
steam  press  has  been  used  ever  since  and  it  was  the 
making  of  the  lithographic  business  in  a commercial  way. 
Then  press  manufacturers  began  to  experiment  with  the 
steam  press  and  from  that  came  the  metal  rotary  press. 
The  French  claim  that  as  their  invention,  while  an  Ameri- 
can manufacturer  avers  he  was  the  inventor — however, 
it  came,  and  added  improvements  have  given  us  the 
rubber-blanket  offset  press,  which  gives  us  the.  premier 
position  in  modern  lithography.  With  this  offset  it  is 
possible  to  make  a transfer  on  metal,  in  much  less  time 
than  it  takes  to  transfer  to  stone,  put  the  plate  on  the 
press  in  less  time,  and  instead  of  printing  1200  im- 
pressions an  hour,  or  7000  a day,  several  hundred  estab- 
lishments are  printing  more  than  5000  an  hour  and  the 
work  covers  every  phase  of  lithography. 

The  progress  in  reaching  the  present  stage  of  effi- 
ciency is  very  interesting.  With  the  introduction  of 
metal  plates  the  wise  printers  were  not  content  to  work 
in  the  old  way  on  flat-bed  presses  with  their  small  out 
put  and  those  engineers  of  an  inventive  turn  of  mind 
directed  their  attention  to  the  construction  of  rotary 
machines  on  which  the  plates  could  be  used.  When  it 
had  been  demonstrated  that  the  rotary  press  was  a 
thoroughly  practical  machine,  the  builders  decided  to  go 
a step  farther  and  try  a press  that  would  print  two 
colors  at  one  time — a two-color  rotary.  Never  had  it 
been  commercially  practical  in  lithography  to  print  two 
colors  from  stone  in  one  run  through  the  old  flat-bed 
press,  although  two-color  flat-beds  have  been  made. 


The  Offset  Press 


113 


Inventors,  lithographers,  and  press  builders  have 
striven  for  years  to  perfect  a machine  which  would  allow 
them  to  put  on  the  various  colors  of  a picture  in  one  run 
through  a press.  It  was  found  that  perfect  register  was 
obtainable  in  a rotary  press,  and  from  the  form  of  con- 
struction of  the  machine  it  was  possible  to  put  in  a third 
cylinder  and  an  additional  set  of  rollers,  and  put  two 
colors  on  the  sheet  of  white  paper  before  it  had  passed 
through  the  press.  Great  as  this  improvement  was  in  sur- 
face printing  machinery,  it  was  but  a step  to  a three-color 
press,  with  the  effects  which  are  obtainable  with  the  com- 
bination of  three  colors.  Then  still  further  improvements 
were  made  until  now  we  have  the  rubber  offset  which  can 
do  multi-color  work  with  startling  rapidity  and  effec- 
tiveness. 

The  rubber  blanket,  while  not  new  in  its  application 
to  printing,  was  formerly  confined  to  tin  printing,  and 
its  introduction  to  commercial  lithographing  dates  back 
but  a few  years.  It  was  found  that  an  impression,  be- 
cause of  the  elasticity  of  the  blanket,  could  be  had  which 
would  bring  up  every  line  in  the  engraving,  no  matter 
how  fine  it  was.  No  matter  how  fast  the  press  ran  the 
work  came  out  just  the  same.  It  was  soon  seen  that  the 
rubber  blanket  would  print  on  a sheet  of  dry  bond  paper, 
as  well  as  a stone  press  printed  on  a sheet  of  “super”  or 
on  a damp  sheet  of  bond,  and  the  very  nature  of  the  im- 
pression showed  that  if  the  ink  rollers  were  working 
everything  on  the  engraving  must  come  out  and  come 
out  clear.  That  settled  the  question  of  the  practicability 
of  the  offset  press  for  commercial  work.  It  was  agreed 
that  a press  that  would  turn  out  5,000  sheets  an  hour  and 


114 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


run  along  like  a sewing  machine,  printing  on  dry  bond 
paper,  and  bring  out  every  line  perfectly,  had  passed  the 
experimental  stage.  Every  sheet  came  out  perfect  and  no 
accident  of  any  kind  occurred  to  stop  the  run. 

It  was  at  this  stage  that  it  was  generally  agreed  by 
lithographers  who  saw  the  offset  in  operation  that  it  was 
adapted  for  commercial  work.  Since  then  the  color  work 
has  been  advanced  to  a state  of  satisfaction,  if  not  en- 
tirely efficient,  and  each  day  greater  progress  in  this  phase 
of  the  machine  is  recorded. 

But  to  get  right  down  to  the  way  metal  plates  are 
handled  after  they  have  passed  through  the  transferring 
process,  which  is  the  object  of  this  dissertation:  The 

several  manufacturers  of  the  offset  press  construct  their 
machines  differently,  of  course,  but,  as  said  before,  they 
are  in  the  main  similar.  There  are  three  cylinders,  al- 
though each  machine  possesses  its  variations  and  pecu- 
liar distinguishing  features.  The  top  cylinder  in  all  of 
them  is,  however,  the  bed,  or  plate  cylinder.  Around 
this  the  metal  plate  is  clamped  for  printing.  The  middle 
cylinder  is  the  rubber  or  offset  cylinder,  while  the  bottom 
one  is  the  regular  tympan  or  printing  cylinder.  The 
inking  arrangements  for  the  printing  plate  are  not  unlike 
those  on  a web  press,  but  the  inking  rollers  provide  a 
greater  distributon  than  on  any  other  machine  made.  In 
connection  with  the  plate  cylinder  is  a water  fountain 
and  a set  of  water  rollers  made  especially  for  the  offset 
press.  The  water  rollers  are  locked  down  upon  the  plate 
cylinder  before  the  inking  rollers,  and  the  machine  is 
ready  for  business.  The  whole  surface  of  the  plate  is 
damped  except  the  transfer  parts  or  the  substances  to  be 


The  Offset  Press 


115 


printed,  and  of  course  the  water  does  not  act  upon  the 
greasy  parts  in  any  way:  Now  the  ink  rollers,  passing 

over  the  plate  will  deposit  no  ink  where  the  plate  is 
damped,  but  they  ink  the  transfers  to  the  required 
strength.  The  inked  up  transfers  print  on  the  rubber 
cylinder,  the  sheets  fed  into  the  tympan  cylinder  receive 
their  impressions  from  the  rubber  blanket  and  the  work 
is  done. 

The  metal  plates  used  are  as  thin  as  fine  paper  and 
the  cut-off  on  the  plate  cylinders  is  only  about  one-sixth 
as  deep  as  the  cut-off  on  most  of  the  flat-bed  cylinders. 
When  you  look  for  the  bearers  on  the  offset  press  you 
have  to  feel  for  them.  Anything  like  so  shallow  a cylin- 
der on  the  old-fashioned  press  would  wear  out  the  print- 
ing material  in  no  time.  It  is  right  here,  if  nowhere 
else,  that  the  offset  press  has  achieved  a triumph  which 
will  afford  press  manufacturers  something  to  think  about 
for  some  time  to  come.  It  has  greatly  reduced  the  terror 
of  that  awful  word  “wear.”  The  plates  used  are  granted 
lasting  qualities  for  the  reason  that  the.  pressure  exerted 
upon  them  is  very  slight.  It  prints  upon  a rubber  blanket 
of  five-ply  thickness,  which  is  somewhat  thicker  than  a 
rubber  boot-leg.  A man  can  press  his  thumb  upon  it  and 
make  a deeper  indentation  than  takes  place  at  each  im- 
pression. This  relieves  the  mechanism  of  all  strain,  and 
leaves  the  cylinders  free  to  travel  in  absolute  unison, 
which  has  heretofore  been  impossible.  It  makes  no  diff- 
erence to  the  offset  whether  it  is  turning  out  a heavy 
printing  or  a light  one,  the  resistance  in  one  case  is  not 
materially  different  from  the  other.  Rigidity  of  con- 
struction, it  may  be  said,  has  been  placed  almost  second- 


116 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


ary  to  accuracy  of  contour,  and  in  this  last  the  builders 
have  reached  a degree  of  perfection  never  before  realized. 
The  variation  in  the  printing  surfaces  of  the  cylinders 
are  so  slight  that,  were  it  mentioned  by  the  fractional 
part  of  an  inch,  the  expression  of  the  fraction  would  con- 
sume a whole  line  in  this  book. 

An  offset  press  does  not  have  the  appearance  of 
running  at  such  terrific  speed  when  you  stand  alongside 
it,  but  when  you  get  in  front  of  one  you  see  the  sheets 
falling  like  so  much  confetti  on  election  night.  The  ab- 
sence of  static  electricity  in  the  paper  is  remarkable  and 
proves  that  it  has  always  before  been  the  result  of  fric- 
tion. The  sheets  are  gathered  on  a skeleton  cylinder  and 
delivered  three  at  a time,  or  else  they  shoot  out  one  after 
another  in  the  manner  that  grain  comes  from  a thrashing 
machine. 

Some  times  wonder  is  expressed  that  so  thin  a plate 
can  be  locked  on  the  cylinder.  The  plate  is  made  in 
various  sizes  to  fit  and  instead  of  catches  being  used  to 
clamp  them  on  they  are  clamped  into  the  openings  in  the 
cylinder. 

Offset  presses  will  not  consume  much  ink,  and  there- 
fore the  quality  must  be  there.  If  too  much  ink  is  used 
it  makes  trouble,  but  the  ink  makers  are  up  to  the  times 
and  are  making  the  best  ink  of  their  lives;  the  pigment 
must  be  put  into  it,  and  less  oil,  etc. 

The  metal  plate — about  which  this  work  has  been 
written — is  the  chief  adjunct  to  this  new  press. 

Out  in  Cleveland  an  establishment  is  turning  out 
sheets  printed  in  eight  colors  on  a 34  by  44  offset  press, 
and  beats  anything  so  far  seen  in  the  color  line.  The 


The  Offset  Press 


117 


best  of  inks  were  used,  of  course,  and  the  metal  plates 
were  prepared;  while  it  is  an  every-day  occurrence  to 
see  the  offset — one  kind  or  another — turning  out  four- 
color  work,  and  presses  in  other  establishments  are  doing 
the  same  thing  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

In  Europe  members  of  the  lithographic  craft  regard 
the  offset  press  with  suspicion,  and  only  recently  British 
lithographers  reluctantly  conceded  that  they  were  adapt- 
able for  commercial  work,  such  as  invoices,  memorandum 
forms,  billheads,  letterheads,  policy  forms  and  labels,  pos- 
sibly in  two  colors,  and  such  like  work,  but  a job  of  high- 
class  chromo  postcards,  done  in  no  less  than  fifteen  colors, 
from  a German  offset  press  has  literally  startled  them.  It 
affords  some  indication  of  the  rapid  developments  that 
are  taking  place  when  we  record  that  the  basic  process 
used  for  these  postcards  was  a photographic  original  on 
a metal  plate.  The  finished  chromos  are  most  pleasing, 
tasteful  productions,  and  were  printed  from  the  offset 
machines  at  a higher  rate  of  speed  than  this  class  of  work 
was  ever  done  before. 

With  the  general  principle  of  the  offset  press  fully 
recorded  it  will  no  doubt  be  interesting  to  show  some- 
thing about  the  peculiarities  of  the  several  makes  of  this 
new  process.  As  previously  stated  each  make  has  its 
own  little  wrinkle  and  characteristics,  and  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  point  them  out  without  fear  or  favor  for  the 
benefit  of  those  interested  in  the  subject. 


The  Offset  Process 


YEAR  or  so  ago  The  National  Lithographer  made 


the  assertion  that  the  offset  press  would  revolu- 
tionize the  lithographic  trade  and  it  was  scoffed  at  by 
many  old  lithographers  who  contended  that  while  it  might 
be  possible  to  do  some  kinds  of  commercial  work  by  the 
rubber  offset  process,  the  idea  of  doing  color  work  on 
an  offset  press  was  the  height  of  folly  and  the  ravings  of 
one  unfamiliar  with  the  subject. 

It  was  pointed  out  that  as  the  work  had  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  a metal  plate  and  printed  first  on  the  rubber 
blanket  and  then  to  the  paper,  it  was  obviously  impossible 
to  do  color- work  on  such  a press.  In  the  first  place  you 
could  not  carry  color  enough,  then  the  register  could 
never  be  made  close  enough  for  a color  job,  and  then- 
well,  all  kinds  of  arguments  were  offered,  and  some  of 
them  sounded  quite  feasible,  but  finally  first  one  press 
and  then  another  got  a trial  at  color  work.  One  man  put 
a color  job  on  his  offset  press  because  he  had  no  other 
press  on  which  to  work  it— and  he  had  to  do  the  job. 
He  was  surprised  at  the  quality  of  the  work — as,  also, 
were  the  other  people  who  tried  to  do  color  work  from 
their  rubber  blankets,  but  the  work  went  right  along  and 
some  very  creditable  jobs  were  turned  out. 

But  the  scoffers  said  that  coated  paper  could  never 
be  worked  on  a rubber  blanket  press.  Of  course  every 
lithographer  knows  that  coated  paper  is  an  “effect”  rather 


118 


The  Offset  Process 


119 


than  a “cause."  People  use  it  for  certain  kinds  of  work 
because  they  cannot  print  the  work  on  paper  unless  it  is 
coated.  With  the  offset  press  it  is  not  necessary  to  have 
coated  paper  in  order  to  get  the  right  effect — the  offset 
printing  attends  to  that— but  some  people  insisted  on 
coated  paper  and  the  offset  press  seemed  to  take  to  that 
just  as  it  took  to  everything  else  that  was  offered  to  it. 
But  the  scoffers  “stood  pat”  on  the  half-tone.  There  was 
a condition  under  which  the  new  process  must  fall  down. 
No  offset  press  could  possibly  carry  ink  enough  to  enable 
it  to  print  a solid  half  tone — that  much  was  sure.  The 
owner  of  an  offset  press  put  a half-tone  down  on  a plate 
and  started  up  the  press.  While  it  was  a slow  job  to 
start  the  first  time,  the  press  not  only  printed  it  perfectly, 
but  actually  printed  it  on  rough  paper  that  the  type  press 
could  not  have  worked  to  have  saved  the  country  from 
going  to  the  dogs.  The  scoffers  still  maintained — and 
probably  always  will — that  the  offset  process  is  not  suited 
to  any  other  kind  of  lithography  than  the  commonest 
kind  of  commercial  work,  but  in  spite  of  that  the  differ- 
ent makes  of  presses  are  grinding  away  on  almost  any 
kind  of  work  and  getting  away  with  it,  while  the  scoffers, 
like  a small  coterie  of  Civil  War  veterans  who  refuse  to 
admit  that  the  war  is  even  now  over,  still  “stand  pat.” 
Those  who  have  used  the  offset  press  have  found 
that  the  cheapest  material  from  which  lithographing  or 
printing  can  be  done  successfully  is  the  metal  plate.  A 
plate  of  this  kind  large  enough  for  the  biggest  press  costs 
less  than  five  dollars,  already  to  receive  the  transfers. 
Plates  can  be  put  aside  and  kept  for  years  and  then  put 
on  the  press  and  run  again.  In  the  meantime  they  can 


120  Metal  Plate  Printing 

be  placed  on  a shelf  or  in  any  dry,  clean  closet  without 
deteriorating. 

For  magazine  printing  this  new  process  offers  a 
money  saving  proposition  that  cannot  well  be  allowed  to 
pass  by  the  publisher.  In  the  first  place  the  process  ad- 
mits of  doing  fine  magazine  work  on  paper  of  about  one- 
half  the  thickness  and  weight  of  that  now  universally  in 
use  on  work  of  that  kind,  and  at  the  same  time  gives  the 
reader  just  as  fine  looking  work, .and  the  advertiser  all 
that  he  could  conscientiously  ask  for.  A net  saving  in 
paper  of  fifty  per  cent,  and  the  same  in  postage  is  as- 
sured. When  the  plates  are  to  be  preserved,  as  is  the 
case  with  most  publishers,  the  metal  plate  offers  advan- 
tages that  the  electrotype  never  possessed.  It  takes  up 
but  a fraction  of  the  space  called  for  by  the  expensive 
electrotypes  and  will  require  practically  no  preliminary 
work  in  getting  it  ready  for  the  press  when  a new  edi- 
tion is  wanted  as  the  form  is  already  made  up  and  ready 
to  run. 

The  question  of  printing  color  lithography  on  an  off- 
set press  has  been  before  the  lithographic  public  for  some 
time — in  fact,  ever  since  the  introduction  of  the  offset 
process.  There  are  now  on  the  market  seven  different 
makes  of  the  offset  press  and  nearly  all  of  them  are  capa- 
ble of  doing  good  color  work.  Some  of  them  are  printing 
in  eight  colors  on  sheets  29x43,  and  there  are  no  heavy 
ones  or  light  ones  among  them — the  sheets  are  uniform. 

Indeed,  some  of  the  samples  were  printed  from  en- 
gravings made  on  stone  for  a stone  press,  and,  although 
it  is  the  generally  accepted  theory  that  work  made  direct 
comes  out  clearer  than  the  reversed  output,  seems  to  have 


The  Offset  Process 


121 


made  no  difference.  It  is  a fact  known  to  those  familiar 
with  the  offset  press,  that  old,  worn  engravings  can  be 
made  to  show  better  work  on  the  offset  press  than  upon 
any  other  press  on  the  market. 

While  it  is  true  the  offset  press  was  intended  pri- 
marily for  commercial  work,  it  has  gradually  been  work- 
ing its  way  into  the  color  field  and  it  has  made  good  from 
the  start.  Some  of  the  jobs  of  color  work  on  exhibition 
in  the  office  of  The  National  Lithographer,  made  by  the 
offset  process,  would  be  a credit  to  any  process  of  repro- 
duction extant,  and  demonstrate  beyond  any  possible 
doubt  that  in  the  field  of  fine  color  work,  the  offset  press 
is  to  be  a contender  in  the  future. 

One  of  the  latest  offset  presses  is  one  that  prints 
both  sides  of  the  paper  satisfactorily.  There  are  two 
large  cylinders,  divided  in  two  distinct  halves,  each  half 
of  one  cylinder  carrying  the  plates  for  “first  printing” 
and  “reiteration” — eight  pages  of  music  on  each  half- 
cylinder. The  other  large  cylinder  is  divided  in  half  to 
correspond  with  the  plate  cylinder,  and  on  each  section 
is  fixed  a three-ply  rubber  blanket.  Each  revolution  of 
the  large  inked  printing  plate  cylinder  transfers  the  music 
pages  on  to  the  rubber  sheets  on  the  second  large  cylin- 
der. Immediately  above  the  rubber  blanket  cylinder  is 
an  impression  cylinder  half  the  size  of  the  larger  ones 
and  also  covered  with  a rubber  blanket.  This  small  rub- 
ber cylinder  receives  the  inked  up  impressions  from  one 
half  section  of  the  large  rubber  covered  cylinder  and 
presses  it  against  the  sheet  to  be  printed  in  due  order  for 
perfecting,  and,  in  its  revolution,  presses  the  other  side  of 
the  sheet  against  the  impression  on  the  other  half  of  the 
large  cylinder,  thus  printing  both  sides  at  once.  The 


122 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


sheet  picks  up  the  inked  impression  from  the  rubber 
sharply,  clearly  and  cleanly,  without  the  slightest  defect 
of  any  kind,  the  finest  line  work  is  as  clean  and  solid  as 
the  heavy  colors,  and  the  register  is  said  to  be  perfect. 

This  machine,  an  English  invention,  can  be  used  for 
printing  two  separate  impressions  on  one  side  of  a sheet. 
This  is  accomplished  by  turning  over  the  gear  connec- 
tion to  a different  position,  and  is  done  easily  and  with 
but  small  loss  of  time.  The  damping  and  taking-off  ar- 
rangements are  entirely  automatic  and  easily  regulated. 
To  test  the  delicacy  of  impression  of  the  new  machine, 
some  very  coarse  hand-made  surface-ribbed  deckle-edge 
paper  was  provided  and  run  through  to  demonstrate  that 
even  this  almost  impossible  paper  for  lithographic  print- 
ing could  be  made  to  receive  a good  impression,  a test 
which  is  said  to  have  elicited  the  unstinted  approval  of 
those  who  witnessed  the  exhibition. 

Every  day  somebody  discovers  something  new  about 
the  machine  and  the  process  that  nobody  dreamed  of  or 
believed  a short  time  ago.  Work  has  been  produced  on 
it  that  practically  demonstrates  that  anything  that  can  be 
lithographed  at  all  can  be  done  on  an  offset  press.  While 
one  man  makes  a specialty  of  half-tone  and  type  work, 
having  acquired  the  knack  of  doing  this  kind  of  work  a 
little  better  than  anyone  else  can  do  it,  another  man  dis- 
covers that  maps  and  work  of  that  kind  can  be  done  to 
better  advantage  on  an  offset  press  than  in  any  other 
manner.  Some  people,  on  the  other  hand,  have  installed 
offset  presses  with  the  idea  that  once  installed  all  that  is 
necessary  is  to  throw  the  copy  at  the  press  and  the  rest 
will  be  done  automatically.  This  is  a great  mistake,  for, 
while  the  offset  press  is  undoubtedly  revolutionizing  the 


The  Offset  Process 


123 


lithographic  trade,  it  requires  skill  and  attention  to  make 
it  work  successfully.  The  many  beautiful  samples  of  lith- 
ography turned  out  by  the  offset  press  demonstrate  clearly 
what  can  be  done  on  it  and,  despite  the  skeptical,  the 
more  we  see  of  the  product  of  the  offset  press,  the  more 
thoroughly  we  are  convinced  that  it  is  the  process  of  the 
future.  All  that  is  necessary  is  proper  material  to  work 
with,  a little  experience  and  good,  hard  common  sense, 
and  it  can  be  made  to  turn  out  beautiful  sheets  of  a regu- 
lar job. 


Metal  Plate  Press  Work 

LITHOGRAPHIC  machine  printing  presents  many 
peculiar  features,  each  one  of  which  requires  care- 
ful and  constant  attention  for  their  successful  operation. 
The  pressroom  being  the  most  important  department  in 
the  lithographic  establishment,  it  becomes  imperative  that 
the  presses  are  made  to  run  to  their  utmost  capacity, 
whether  they  be  the  flat-beds  or  the  rotary  machines.  A 
small  amount  of  dirt  will  make  more  trouble  for  a press- 
man who  is  printing  from  metal  plates  than  any  one  thing 
that  he  comes  in  contact  with.  This  matter  of  cleanliness 
extends  to  the  back  of  the  plate  that  is  to  be  used  as  well 
as  the  surface.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  see  that  the 
back  of  the  plate  is  thoroughly  clean  before  the  plate  is 
clamped  on  the  press.  It  should  be  wiped  off  carefully, 


124 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


and  the  cylinder  as  well,  to  prevent  particles  of  dust  and 
sand  from  lying  between  the  bed  and  the  plate. 

Another  important  thing  to  re  ember  is  to  have 
good  grained  rollers  when  printing  on  a rotary  press. 
Rubber  rollers  are  sometimes  worked  with  success,  but  a 
leather  roller  is  the  best  that  has  been  made  for  the  pur- 
pose. They  require  a great  deal  of  care  to  keep  them  in 
good  condition,  and  should  always  be  kept  soft,  but  not 
greasy.  In  running  a metal  plate  it  should  always  be 
gummed  when  stopped , and  not  left  standing  under  the 
ink  rollers,  as  there  is  always  a little  moisture  in  the  roll- 
ers which  will  sometimes  injure  the  plate,  which  has  a 
tendency  to  absorb  water.  It  is  best  therefore,  to  always 
sponge  off  the  plate  before  starting  up  the  press.  Should 
a plate  have  a tendency  to  scum,  a weak  solution  of  neu- 
tralized nitric  acid  or  a small  quantity  of  gallic  or  tannic 
acid  with  a little  gum  added  to  the  water  in  the  water 
fountain  will  prevent  it.  There  are  preparations  for  ac- 
complishing this  purpose  manufactured  by  the  makers  of 
the  processed  plates,  and  where  prepared  plates  are  used 
it  is  best  to  purchase  such  solutions  from  them. 

When  the  metal  plates  are  being  set  and  started  per- 
haps the  best  advice  to  give  the  machinist  is  to  be  syste- 
matic in  his  working.  The  morning's  start  should  begin 
with  the  oil  can.  Go  over  the  machine  and  its  working 
parts  yourself.  Do  not  trust  an  inexperienced  boy  to  at- 
tend to  this  important  part  of  the  day’s  routine.  See  that 
oil-holes  are  clear,  and  lubricate  most  of  those  parts  of 
the  machine  that  have  the  greatest  wear.  Carry  a rag  or 
piece  of  waste  in  one  hand  to  mop  up  any  oil  that  may 
overflow,  and  to  clean  away  any  dust  or  dirty  oil  that 
may  have  accumulated. 


Metal  Plate  Presswork 


125 


Examine  the  ink  rollers  next,  and  if  any  of  the  skins 
are  loose  or  baggy,  have  them  rectified  at  once,  and  also 
see  that  the  dampers  are  in  good  condition. 

When  using  the  ordinary  press,  the  carriage  bed 
should  be  periodically  examined  and  cleaned.  If  a stone 
is  used  as  a support  to  the  metal  plate  it  might  be  well 
to  use  a piece  of  elastic  bedding  underneath  it  to  lessen 
the  risk  of  stone,  breakage. 

When  choosing  this  material  it  is  well  to  see  that 
the  waterproof  quality  is  obtained,  any  other  sort  being 
a source  of  danger  owing  to  its  uneven  swelling  with  the 
application  of  moisture. 

Assuming  that  all  these  preliminaries  have  been  car- 
ried through,  and  that  the  stone  or  iron  bed  support  for 
the  plate  is  at  hand.  Proceed  to  set  as  usual,  using  the 
spirit  level  first,  and  then,  after  lowering  the  stone,  turn 
the  cylinder  over  and  raise  the  carriage  evenly  until  the 
stone  is  firmly  pressed  against  the  cylinaer.  Do  not  screw 
too  tightly,  but  allow  a little  for  the  thickness  of  the  plate 
that  has  to  be  placed  upon  it. 

The  plate  should  be  ruled  along  the  front  edge  with 
a pencil  to  mark  the  exact  margin  to  lap  over  the  edge  of 
the  stone.  The  plate  can  now  be  inserted  between  the 
front  locking-up  blocks  and  the  gripper  edge  of  the  stone. 
This  is  accomplished  when  the  carriage  of  the  machine  is 
extended.  When  fixed  in  the  exact  position,  bend  over 
the  stone,  place  a sheet  of  paper  on  the  face  of  the  plate 
and  turn  the  cylinder  slowly  until  it  reaches  the  back  edge 
of  the  stone.  The  plate  by  this  means  is  flattened  upon 
the  surface,  and  is  held  securely  while  the  back  edge  is. 
bent  over  the  edge  of  the  stone. 


126 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


The  impression  cylinder  can  then  be  released  and  the 
plate  locked  up  in  position  by  pressing  the  blocks  against 
the  sides  of  the  stone.  If  the  plate,  after  locking  up,  ap- 
pears to  be  a little  slack,  insert  a long  strip  of  wood  be- 
tween the  bent  edges  of  the  plate  and  stone.  Lock  up 
tightly  against  this  and  it  will  become  perfectly  flat  and 
taut. 

When  using  a cast-iron  bed  as  a support  for  the 
plate,  level  it  up  in  the  same  manner  as  you  do  a stone. 
Bend  the  two  edges  of  the  metal  plate  to  correspond  with 
the  width  of  the  surface  of  the  bed.  Clean  well  the  back 
of  the  plate  and  the  top  of  the  bed.  Insert  the  plate  at 
the  gripper  edge  of  the  bed  and  lock  up  with  the  middle 
and  end  screws.  Then  repeat  the  operation  on  the  back 
edge  and  tighten  all  the  nuts.  Run  a few  waste  sheets 
through  without  removing  the  gum  coating  and  without 
the  use  of  dampers  and  inkers.  This  will  cause  the  plate 
to  stretch  a little  and  settle  to  its  proper  level.  The  bars 
at  the  back  edge  of  bed  are  then  tightened  to  take  up  the 
slight  stretch,  and  the  bed  can  be  locked  up  and  the  regis- 
ter obtained  in  the  usual  way. 

Supposing  that  the  machine  is  now  in  readiness  for 
printing,  spread  a little  ink  on  the  rollers  and  let  it  dis- 
tribute well  before  allowing  it  to  touch  the  plate. 

The  start  should  be  made  with  a spare  supply  of  ink 
rather  than  too  much,  until  the  correct  quantity  is 
reached. 

If  the  plate  has  to  be  printed  from  in  black,  the  design 
can  be  washed  out  as  before  described  and  rolled  up  with 
the  hand  roller.  Or  if  the  job  is  in  color,  gum  the  plate 
up  thinly,  wash  out  with  a clean  dry  rag  until  all  traces 


Metal  Plate  Presswork 


127 


of  the  old  ink  are  removed,  apply  a little  grease  or  asphal- 
turn,  add  a little  water  and  wash  clean.  The  machine  roll- 
ers can  now  be  dropped  and  the  plate  rolled  up  in  color. 

When  making  a start  and  obtaining  register,  etc.,  do 
not  run  the  same  sheets  through  more  than  two  or  three 
times,  less  if  possible,  as  this  is  a frequent  cause  of  work 
thickening  owing  to  the  amount  of  ink  on  the  sheets  be- 
ing continually  pressed  upon  the  clean  parts  of  the  plate. 

It  also  causes  trouble  by  transferring  some  of  the  ink 
to  the  cylinder  brush,  which  afterwards  marks  the  clean 
paper  as  it  goes  through  the  machine. 

Do  not  fad  to  gum  up  and  dry  the  plate  if  the  ma- 
chine is  stopped  at  any  time.  The  careful  observation  of 
this  rule  will  keep  the  plate  in  excellent  condition  and  re- 
move one  of  the  sources  that  cause  the  work  to  thicken 
up. 

If,  when  printing,  the  plate  commences  to  tint  or 
scum,  the  machine  should  be  immediately  stopped,  the 
plate  rolled  up  in  black,  chalked  and  etched.  Then  add  a 
little  magnesia  to  the  ink  or  a few  drops  of  tannic  acid  to 
the  damping  water. 

A little  caustic  soda  solution  applied  to  the  edges  oc- 
casionally will  keep  them  clean  and  prevent  the  ink 
from  catching. 

The  foregoing  advice  on  machine  printing  will  give 
the  beginner  the  chief  lines  of  treatment  necessary  in  set- 
ting and  starting  plate  work. 

If  the  instructions  contained  therein  are  carefully 
followed,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  pressman  should 
not  produce,  at  the  initial  attempt,  work  in  every  way 
equal  to  his  best  productions  from  the  litho-stone. 


128 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


Of  all  the  parts  of  the  press  which  have  an  influence 
on  the  register,  the  grippers  play  the  most  important 
part,  no  matter  what  kind  of  a machine  is  in  use.  When 
these  parts  are  not  in  order,  that  is  to  say,  when  they  do 
not  hold  the  sheets  equally  fast  in  all  parts,  exact  regis- 
ter is  not  possible.  Naturally  the  difficulty  is  less  with 
small  sheets;  with  larger  sheets  the  grippers  come  into 
play  more  often,  and  consequently  there  is  more  likeli- 
hood that  an  equal  number  do  not  come  into  operation, 
one  or  the  other  of  the  grippers  not  holding  the  sheet  so 
fast  as  the  others.  These  differences  appear  still  more 
when  the  grippers  through  striking,  have  become  bent. 
They  should  never  be  hammered,  as  is  often  resorted  to, 
though  if  it  is  done  it  should  be  done  only  by  the  most 
expert  manipulator.  Equally  with  the  grippers  the  feed 
guide  should  receive  attention.  Where  it  is  not  smooth, 
or  where  the  edges  stand  up  too  high,  the  sheet  is 
pressed  downward,  or  with  paper  which  is  wavy  so  that 
it  does  not  lie  smooth,  the  grippers  cannot  get  a good  hold 
without  pushing  the  sheet  away.  This  is  a most  important 
point  in  the  effectiveness  of  the  feed  guide. 

Of  the  many  annoyances  associated  with  the  machine 
printer’s  task,  grit  is  probably  the  most  troublesome,  in- 
asmuch as  its  presence  is  almost  imperceptible,  while  its 
effect  is  extensive  and  often  disastrous.  Its  sharp  grains 
become  embedded  in  the  inking-roller  skins,  and  plough 
tiny  furrors  across  the  printing  forms,  doing  much  dam- 
age before  the  printer  realizes  the  presence  of  any  for- 
eign matter  on  the  inking-rollers.  Dust  the  rollers  and 
examine  them  carefully  before  commencing  operations, 
and  in  this  way  ensure  perfect  cleanliness  at  the  start. 


Metal  Plate  Presswork 


129 


This  may  seem  a trifle,  but  trifles  make  perfection,  and 
perfection  is  no  trifle,  some  wise  man  said,  and  by  ad- 
hering strictly  to  the  rules  of  care  and  cleanliness  in  the 
handling  of  metal  plates  there  should  be  no  trouble  with 
grit  or  other  like  substances. 

In  conclusion  the  publisher  of  this  book  again  urges 
the  younger  element  in  the  lithographic  trade  to  learn  the 
business  from  the  ground  up,  not  forgetting  that  litho- 
graphy, although  more  than  a hundred  years  old,  is  in  its 
infancy  right  now,  and  is  only  beginning  to  take  its  place 
in  the  commercial  world.  More  progress  has  been  made 
in  the  past  few  years  than  actually  took  place  in  the  pre- 
vious century,  ignorance  and  prejudice,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  foolish  secrecy  that  prevailed,  keeping  this  beautiful 
art  confined  to  a narrow  sphere.  The  young  man  in  the 
trade  faces  a bright  future,  if  he  will  devote  his  time  and 
energies  to  mastering  every  detail  of  the  work  in  hand, 
and  keep  abreast  of  the  times.  The  older  men,  or  at  least 
some  of  them,  will  argue  forever  more  that  nothing  can 
ever  take  the  place  of  the  lithographic  stone,  but  they  are 
wrong,  sadly  wrong,  for  the  metal  plate  process  of  litho- 
graphic printing  has  demonstrated  beyond  peradventure 
of  a doubt  that  it  is  a permanency. 


Photo-Lithography 


Its  Growing  Importance 

THE  wonderful  strides  that  have  been  made  in  Photo- 
Lithography  are  no  less  remarkable  than  the  ad- 
vance recorded  in  metal  plate  printing  and  the  wonderful 
achievements  accomplished  by  the  offset  press.  This  has 
resulted  from  a series  of  experiments  which  has  brought 
Photo-Lithography,  with  its  many  branches  and  its  ex- 
tended application,  to  a point  where  it  is  useful  for  the 
graphic  arts,  not  only  from  a practical  standpoint,  but  in 
the  artistic  sense  as  well.  Like  the  metal  plate  and  the 
offset  press,  its  use  has  been  restricted  by  prejudice  and 
custom,  but  in  the  near  future  it  will  be  a great  acquisi- 
tion to  the  lithographing  trade  when  it  is  once  generally 
recognized  that  it  is  possible  by  that  process  to  prepare  a 
plate  or  stone  by  the  aid  of  photography  from  any  origi- 
nal. It  matters  not  whether  it  be  a drawing,  a print,  or 
an  oil  painting — larger  or  smaller  than  the  original  can  be 
reproduced  in  the  lithographic  press. 

Photo-Lithography,  in  fact,  has  developed  so  rapidly 
of  late  that  it  is  almost  inconceivable  to  comprehend  its 
possibilities.  A new  enterprise,  having  as  its  basis  this 
process,  recently  began  reproducing  oil  paintings  by 
means  of  the  lithographic  press  and  the  success  has 

130 


Photo-Lithograp  hy 


131 


created  something  of  a sensation  in  lithographic  circles. 
This  new  process  makes  its  headquarters  in  Chicago,  and, 
while  the  company  working  it  proposes  to  enter  the  ad- 
vertising field,  oil  paintings  were  recently  produced  on 
canvass  with  such  fidelity  that  the  work  could  not  be 
distinguished,  a few  feet  distant,  from  the  original  paint- 
ing. Notable  examples  of  oil  painting  reproductions  are 
a painting  of  Sir  Wilfred  Laurier  and  one  of  President 
Taft.  They  are  both  mounted  in  heavy  gold  frames,  and 
are  attracting  attention  from  the  public  generally,  and 
lithographers  in  particular. 

Photography  was  not  discovered  by  any  one  person, 
but  was  evolved  by  many  minds.  Through  the  revela- 
tion of  Mungo  Pouton,  in  1839,  that  chromic  acid  is  ex- 
tremely sensitive  to  light;  through  the  disclosure  that 
chromic  gelatine  becomes  insoluble  in  warm  water,  by 
Talbot,  and,  finally,  by  the  adaption  of  these  principles  to 
pigment,  carbon  and  photo-lithography  by  Poitevin,  a 
new  field  was  opened  up  to  graphic  endeavor;  the  screen 
process  being  its  highest  realization  on  the  printing  press, 
and  fully  incorporated  in  lithographic  methods  today. 
The  unexcelled  principle  of  the  litho-transfer,  the  ex- 
treme fineness  of  the  Ben  Day  film,  the  introduction  of 
metal  plates,  self-feeding  machinery,  the  rubber  blanket 
offset,  rapid  printing  presses;  in  short,  the  host  of  me- 
chanical and  chemical  devices  open  to  lithography,  form 
a constantly  growing  galaxy  adding  new  triumphs  to  the 
art.  Lithography,  it  can  be  truly  said,  is  mistress  of  all 
processes,  because  it  is  the  method  par-excellence,  of  the 
combined  mechano-chemical  processes,  finding  its  fullest. 


132 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


most  far  reaching  and  economical  exemplification  in  its 
versatile  methods  as  practiced  today. 

Through  the  advent  of  photography  and  the  immense 
flood  of  light  which  it  shed  upon  the  reproduction  and 
development  of  art,  lithography  was  at  once  projected  as 
the  one  method  capable  to  participate  most  prominently 
with,  and  maintain  her  dignity  toward  all ; for  instead  of 
losing  prestige,  lithography  blossomed  out  in  new  array, 
in  rich  colors,  and  at  present  stands  unexcelled  as  the 
queen  of  chromatic  reproductive  methods ; artistically  po- 
tent and  commercially  capable,  she  is  the  central  figure 
upon  the  grand  dome  spanning  the  glorious  structure  of 
the  graphic  arts  today. 

Imitation  of  the  marvelous  color  displays  of  nature 
by  the  camera  is  the  goal  of  photo-lithographers,  and  the 
camera  now  has  the  same  power  as  the  human  eye — it 
can  not  only  see,  but  it  can  reproduce  color — and  through 
it  the  lithographic  trade  will  multiply  its  productions  and 
extend  its  importance  as  an  educator  of  the  masses.  Soon 
it  may  not  depend  upon  the  translation  of  brush  and  pal- 
ette to  gather  the  secrets  from  the  garden  of  Mother 
Nature.  Upon  this  little  globe  of  ours,  floating  in  infinite 
space,  the  lithographic  employer,  as  well  as  the  litho- 
graphic employee,  has  become  really  an  intellectual  be- 
ing, constantly  setting  before  the.  public  gaze  the  highest 
examples  of  art  and  striving  to  teach  ideal  color-culture 
as  rendered  in  the  grand  displays  of  nature. 

The  progress  of  chromatics  will  not  cease.  It  has 
been  planted  in  the  human  soul  and  is  essentially  for  the 
advancement  and  progress  of  coming  ages.  The  litho- 
graphic art  is  emerging  from  the  confusion  of  mingled 


Photo-Lithography 


133 


colors,  when  registering  marks  were  pulled  apart,  plates 
began  to  tint,  streaks  began  to  appear,  and  even  solids 
walked  right  off  the  surface,  and  the  progress  being  made, 
cannot  be  checked  by  the  little  men  of  the  planet  who  al- 
ways oppose  things  new  and  novel. 

One  of  the  most  successful  and  beautiful  photo- 
litho  processes  before  the  public  at  present,  is  that 
adopted  by  Frey,  of  Zurich.  In  this  process  the  work  is 
done  entirely  with  zinc.  The  sketch,  or  other  object  to 
be  reproduced  is  photographed  through  color  films  onto 
a plate  coated  with  an  asphaltum  film.  In  the  develop- 
ment, minute  particles  of  asphaltum  wash  away,  and 
leave  the  tones  of  the  picture  broken  up  with  an  exceed- 
ingly fine,  irregular  grain.  These  are  three  color  photo- 
graphs taken  and  from  these  three  are  produced  the 
number  of  colors  necessary  for  working  the  design.  The 
various  color  strengths  are  gotten  by  under  and  over 
developing.  For  instance,  a pink  or  flesh  tint  would  be 
obtained  by  under  developing  a print  from  a red  nega- 
tive, supplemented  by  a fair  amount  of  work  put  on  by 
the  litho.  artist,  such  as  filing  in  solids  and  taking  away 
the  high  lights.  The  impressions  from  this  process  are 
very  fine,  and,  as  works  of  art,  bring  good  prices. 

The  question  is  often  asked  by  many  lithographers: 
Has  not  the  camera  in  lithography  driven  out  the  artists 
element  in  the  trade?  In  answer  we  say  most  emphati- 
cally, No.  The  chromo-optical  process  of  making  pictures 
has  been  nothing  but  a valuable  acquisition  to  commercial 
lithography  and  has  hurt  no  one.  We  need  only  to  com- 
pare the  results  produced  by  that  class  of  lithography 
twenty  years  ago,  with  that  turned  out  today,  and  we  will 


134 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


find  where  fifteen  colors  were  used  then,  seven  or  less 
’are  used  now,  with  the  same  effect.  Naturally,  in  order 
to  obtain  this  economic  advantage  the  technical  part  of 
the.  work  had  to  advance  50  per  cent ; so  we  find  at  pres- 
ent the  work  must  be  finer  and  closer,  the  textures  must 
be  more  marked  and  diverse,  the  work  more  accurate, 
and  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  truer  to  nature.  Photo- 
graphy and  process  have  forced  the  lithographer  to  ad- 
vance likewise  in  his  Ben  Day,  crayon  or  stippel  work. 
So  that  instead  of  shedding  a baneful  influence  upon  the 
lithographic  art,  it  has  certainly  benefited  every  one  even 
remotely  connected  with  the  lithographic  trade.  It  has 
educated  the  mind  and  eye  of  artist  and  public,  as  well 
as  accelerated  the  dexterity  of  the  lithographer’s  hand — 
in  other  words,  the  graphic  arts  would  have  retrograded 
if  it  had  not  been  for  photography. 

For  practical  purposes  the  photo-litho.  process  may  be 
classified  according  to  the  two  chief  methods : 

1.  The  first,  in  which  the  plate  or  stone  is  coated  with 
the  light  sensitive  photographic  substance  and  exposed 
under  a reversed  negative,  so  that  a reversed  image  is 
formed  on  the  stone  or  plate  which,  in  printing,  comes  in 
the  right  position. 

2.  The  other,  in  which  paper  or  a very  thin  zinc 
plate,  provided  with  a light  sensitive  film,  is  exposed  un- 
der an  ordinary — that  is,  not  reversed — negative,  and 
thus  is  rendered  capable  of  receiving  fatty  ink  and  is 
then  transferred  to  the  plate  or  stone  by  transfers. 

The  basis  for  the  photo-litho.  is  generally  a photo- 
graphic negative  on  glass  or  a gelatinous  substance 
which,  as  the  word  negative  implies,  when  examined  by 


Photo-Lithography 


135 


transmitted  light,  must  have  all  its  tones  reversed.  That 
is  to  say,  to  be  specific,  the  drawing,  lines,  strokes  or 
points,  which  are  to  be  black  in  the  print,  must  look 
transparent,  while  the  other  part  of  the  negative  which 
forms  the  groundwork  must  be  covered  or  opaque. 

Of  the  many  processes,  Fritz,  the  Vienese  authority 
says,  though  differing  in  detail,  they  may  all  be  assigned 
to  one  of  the  above-mentioned  principles.  However 
that  may  be,  there  are  two  which  have  been  especially 
tested  in  practice,  namely,  for  the  direct  transfer,  as  we 
will  call  it,  that  process  which  is  based  on  the  light  sen- 
sitiveness of  asphalt  or  of  an  organic  substance  in  combi- 
nation with  a chromium  salt;  and  for  the  indirect  trans- 
fer that  process  which  is  founded  on  the  light  sensitive 
chromium  salt  in  combination  with  gelatine,  or  briefly  on 
the  light  sensitiveness  of  chromated  gelatine.  All  other 
more  or  less  complicated  methods  have  disappeared  from 
technical  practice  and  have  now  only  the  honor  of  being 
scientifically  and  theoretically  correct,  but  for  various 
reasons  are  not  practically  valuable. 

Until  quite  recently  the  direct  process  in  its  appli- 
cation to  the  lithographic  stone  or  plate  was  uncertain 
in  its  results.  It  was  impossible  to  secure  sufficiently 
close  contact  between  the  negative  and  the  stone  or  plate, 
particularly  when  large  surfaces  were  under  operation, 
and  consequently  the  prints  were  seldom  a complete  suc- 
cess. But  the  successful  application  of  the  direct  pro- 
cess to  modern  zinc  and  aluminum  plates  is  now  an  ac- 
complished fact.  The  metal  plate  is  sufficiently  elastic  to 
adapt  itself  to  any  inequalities  on  the  surface  of  the  nega- 
tive. Under  such  conditions  as  these  this  process  offers 


136 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


at  least  one  very  important  advantage — there  is  not  the 
slightest  possibility  of  distortion  such  as  might  occur  in 
the  development  of  the  transfer. 

The  methods  used  by  some  experimentalists  for  di- 
rect transfers,  which  began  by  coating  the  stone  with  a 
solution  of  gelatine,  albumen,  or  gum  made  light  sen- 
sitive with  a chromium  salt,  and  after  exposure  under  a 
positive  or  negative,  obtaining  a printing  plate,  were  com- 
plicated and  troublesome,  but  the  results  were  fairly  safe 
and  they  are  now  more  and  more  used  in  practice. 

Photo-Lithography  in  lines  is  simply  the  reproduction 
of  line  drawings  or  prints  in  which  the  design  is  repre- 
sented in  black  and  white  with  such  gradations  that  may 
be  suggested  by  lines  or  dots.  Half-tone  Photo-Lithog- 
raphy is  the  reproduction  of  a design  or  copy  which  has 
in  its  composition  gradation  of  tone  in  the  form  of  flat 
tints.  This  is  sometimes  described  as  the  translation  of 
the  graduated  light  and  shade  of  the  original  copy  into 
a surface  which  can  be  printed  from  by  mechanical  means 
for  which  purpose  the  ink  bearing  surface  is  broken  up 
into  the  most  minute  sections,  thus  forming  an  almost 
imperceptible  grain.  The  first  attempt  to  reproduce  the 
half-tone  of  a copy,  in  the  form  of  a grain  consisting 
of  minute  dots,  were  made  with  a screen  of  open  textile 
fabric.  This  was  done  by  placing  the  screen  between  the 
lens  and  sensitive  plate  but  the  results  were,  crude  and 
unsatisfactory.  It  had  the  effect,  however,  of  stimulating 
interest,  and  the  invention  of  cross-line  screens  soon  fol- 
lowed. In  this  latter  method  lines  were  cut  on  glass  and 
filled  with  suitable  coloring  matter  and  it  was  at  once 
recognized  as  a decided  advancement  in  half-tone  photo 


Photo-Lithography 


137 


process.  The  screen  effect,  is  even  now  a drawback  to  its 
more  extensive  adoption,  as  fine  etching  cannot  be  re- 
sorted to  as  in  photo  engraving.  There  are  no  insur- 
mountable obstacles,  however,  to  hinder  the  production 
of  excellent  transfers  as  this  effect  has  to  some  extent 
been  overcome  by  the  use  of  a four-line  screen  in  lieu  of 
the  usually  crossed  screen,  while  more  recently  a higher 
degree  of  excellence  in  photo  process  work  has  been  at- 
tained by  the  adoption  of  a natural  grain,  which  is  un- 
doubtedly based  upon  Calotype  methods  in  which  reticu- 
lated grain  is  produced  more  or  less  suitable  for  litho- 
graphic prinfing.  Unlike  the  mechanical  screen  grain,  the 
texture  of  this  process  reproduces  the  original  copy  with 
but  little,  if  any,  loss  of  expressive  power. 

There  is  still  much  to  achieve  in  photo  lithography, 
and  it  is  probably  more  owing  to  a full  recognition  of 
this  fact  that  the  progressive  character  of  the  process  is 
maintained.  Its  commercial  value  is  undoubted,  and  its 
successful  application  is  chiefly  a question  of  how  and 
where  it  can  be  most  effectively  introduced. 

A photo  print  can  now  be  made  direct  on  either  zinc 
or  aluminum  plates  and  by  a slight  modification  of  the 
photo  engraving  process  can  be  developed  according  to 
lithographic  methods.  In  a direct  photo  print  on  metal, 
the  finer  qualities  of  the  work  are  much  more  likely  to  be 
retained  than  when  a transfer  print  is  made  under  the 
negative  and  afterwards  transferred  in  the  usual  man- 
ner. 

One  authority  says,  in  discussing  photo-lithography 
as  applied  to  metal  plates,  that  the  plate  should  be  finely 
grained  and  then  coated  with  sensitized  asphalt  solution 


138 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


and  exposed  under  a negative,  for  about  five  minutes  in 
direct  sunlight  and  about  twelve  minutes  in  a diffused 
light.  The  action  of  light  on  the  asphalt  solution  is  to 
render  it  insoluble  in  turpentine,  so  that  if  a sufficiently 
exposed  plate  is  immersed  in  pure  turpentine  the  lines, 
etc.,  of  the  design,  being  of  course  represented  by  clear 
lines  in  the  negative,  will  remain  intact,  while  the  sur- 
rounding portions  will  be  dissolved  and  washed  away. 
After  development,  wash  the  plate  freely  in  water,  and 
dry  it  by  fanning  or  using  a pair  of  bellows.  Let  it  stand 
for  about  ten  minutes  and  then  slightly  etch  it  with  a 
very  weak  solution  of  nitric  acid.  Cover  the  work  with 
strong  fresh  gum  and  dry  it  thoroughly  and  quickly.  Re- 
move the  gum  and  rub  up  the  design  with  black  ink  in 
the  usual  way,  wash  dry  and  dust  over  with  French  chalk. 
Every  maker  of  metal  plates  supplies  this  special  etching 
solution  prepared  for  a certain  quality  and  character  of 
metal. 

After  using  the  etching  solution  and  gumming  up 
the  plate  should  be  washed  out  with  a dry  flannel  till  all 
the  work  is  removed.  Sprinkle  a few  drops  of  water  on 
the  plate  with  a “rubbing  up”  rag  and  with  a little  ink  and 
turps  rub  up  the  work  till  it  is  gently  charged  with  ink, 
then  roll  up  till  the  work  or  transfer  looks  strong  and 
sharp,  when  the  plate  is  ready  for  printing. 

Pen  and  ink  sketches  and  wash  drawings  are  entirely 
under  the  control  of  the  artist  and  characteristic  effects 
are  chiefly  due  to  bold  and  vigorous  conception  and  skill- 
ful drawing.  Scraper  boards  offer  most  remarkable  pos- 
sibilities for  black  and  white  half-tone  sketches.  This 
consists  of  a light  wood  pulp  board  with  a convenient 


Photo-Lithography 


139 


base  upon  which  a thick  coating  of  white  composition  is 
laid.  Black  ruled  lines  are  printed  on  this  surface  and 
lines  of  similar  texture  are  embossed  at  right  angles  to 
them.  Drawings  in  pen  and  ink  may  be  effectively  han- 
dled by  free  and  skillful  use  of  the  scraper.  Embossed 
lines  only  are  the  peculiar  features  of  these  boards  but 
variety  of  texture  can  be  obtained  by  scraping  these  lines 
into  dots. 

According  to  the  existing  technique  of  photo-litho- 
graphy and  the  almost  perfect  state  of  the  transfer  pro- 
cess, anything  can  be  reproduced  by  this  method.  It  rests 
in  all  its  branches  of  application  on  so  simple  a principle, 
that  any  lithographic  printer  with  a little  practice  and  ob- 
servation, can  attain  absolutely  good  results. 

Before  the  discovery  of  the  method  of  breaking  up 
half-tones  into  points  or  dots,  only  line  drawings  could 
be  re-produced  by  photo-lithography.  Since  it  has  been 
possible  to  break  up  half-tones  nothing  stands  in  the  way 
of  reproducing  by  this  method  any  kind  of  original. 

The  negative  for  photo-lithographic  work  must  be- 
fore all  things  possess  two  principal  qualities;  when 
looked  through  it  should  be  as  clear  and  as  clean  as  pos- 
sible, on  the  other  hand  the  ground  as  well  covered  as 
possible.  The  deposit  should  be  of  a black  color ; from  a 
well  drawn  original,  absolutely  satisfactory  negatives  can 
be  prepared  without  the  black  color.  When  a drawing  is 
reduced  which  contains  grey  lines,  dots,  and  points,  as 
well  as  full  black  ones,  toned  lines  will  be  visible  as 
well  as  the  transparent ; with  careful  treatment,  the  nega- 
tive may  be  so  far  corrected  that  it  may  be  used.  If  this 
is  not  effected,  or  is  not  possible,  the  retouching  may  be 
somewhat  troublesome. 


140 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


It  will  not  perhaps  be  out  of  place  to  give  here  ac- 
counts of  photo-lithographic  methods  that  have  recently 
been  adopted  by  some  of  the  leading  printers  who  are  at 
present  turning  out  beautiful  work  by  means  of  the 
camera  and  metal  plates.  Their  method  for  obtaining  in- 
taglio plates  is  processed  by  first  etching  the  original 
print  into  slight  relief  and  then  reversing  it.  Another 
process,  which  is  similar  to  the  latest  half-tone  processes, 
is  based  upon  the  use  of  an  asphalt  solution  to  give  the 
necessary  grain. 

The  sensitizing  solution  most  generally  used  for 
metal  photo-lithographing  is  prepared  as  follows:  Take 
water,  1,000  parts;  bichromate  of  ammonia,  3 parts;  albu- 
men of  eggs,  100  parts  and  little  ammonia  to  color  the 
solution  to  a light  yellow. 

This  mixture  is  well  shaken,  filtered  with  care  and 
mixed  with  a spatula  on  a sheet  of  polished  metal — zinc 
or  aluminum — which  has  previously  been  cleaned  with 
whiting.  As  soon  as  a thin  coating  has  been  obtained,  it 
is  advisable  to  hasten  the  drying  by  slightly  warming  the 
plate.  It  is  then  exposed  to  the  light  under  a positive, 
after  which,  the  exposure  being  judged  sufficient,  the 
metal  is  taken  out  of  the  frame  and  inked  with  a glue 
roller  charged  with  transfer  ink  that  has  been  reduced 
with  turpentine.  The  plate  now  appears  grey  without 
any  sign  of  the  picture.  The  ink  must  not  be  black,  but 
rather  thin  and  evenly  coated. 

By  immersing  the  plate  in  luke-warm  water,  the  de- 
sign will  shortly  appear.  A little  aid  to  the  development 
can  be  given  by  the  use  of  a small  piece  of  raw  cotton, 
which  should  be  rubbed  gently  over  the  plate  until  the 
design  is  clear  and  sharp. 


Photo-Lithography 


141 


The  image  so  obtained  is  a negative  one,  and  the 
metal  is  bared  at  the  points  representing  the  black  in  the 
original.  The  albumen  has,  in  fact,  remained  soluble  at 
these  parts,  having  been  protected  by  the  corresponding 
lines  in  the  positive  when  exposed  to  the  light  in  the 
photographic  frame. 

The  plate  is  then  rinsed  with  plenty  of  water,  dried, 
and  plunged  into  a solution  of  perchloride  of  iron  at  35 
degrees  B,  in  which  it  should  remain  from  ten  to  fifteen 
seconds.  It  is  then  washed  again  and  dried.  Upon  again 
passing  over  the  plate,  which  has  been  slightly  heated,  a 
roller  charged  with  transfer  ink,  the  ink  adheres  over  the 
whole  surface.  A black  picture  is  thus  made,  after  which 
the  deep  parts  are  brought  out  by  the  aid  of  a smooth 
roller  passed  rapidly  over  the  surface  of  the  plate  a few 
times.  The  picture  is  again  developed  by  rubbing  the 
surface  of  the  plate  with  a piece  of  muslin  that  has  been 
soaked  in  caustic  ammonia.  The  design  will  now  appear 
reversed,  the  image  being  in  black,  standing  out  from  a 
brilliant  background  formed  by  the  metal.  During  this 
operation  the  bichromated  albumen  insolubilized  by  the 
light,  dissolves  in  its  turn  in  the  ammonia,  and  a second 
development  is  thus  operated. 

By  the  rubbing,  and  the  aid  of  the  ammoniacal  liquid, 
the  ink  is  removed  from  the  parts  at  which  the  insoluble 
albumen  is  prominent,  while  the  ink  remains  upon  the 
perchloride  of  iron.  The  plate  is  now  prepared  in  the  or- 
dinary way  for  lithographic  printing,  rolled  up,  chalked, 
and  etched. 

The  metal  plates  used  for  this  purpose  are  first  well 
cleaned  with  benzine  to  remove  all  traces  of  grease.  They 


142 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


are  then  coated  with  a solution  of  asphalt,  using  a whirler 
to  obtain  an  even  coating.  When  this  is  properly  ac- 
complished, the  plates  will  have  a golden  appearance,  and 
are  then  ready  for  printing  upon  through  the  negative. 
The  necessary  time  for  exposure  in  sunlight  is  about  four 
minutes,  and  about  twelve  minutes  in  diffused  north 
light,  between  io  a.  m.  and  2 p.  m.  The  thicker  the  film, 
the  longer  the  exposure. 

The  photo-printing  frame  must  be  of  strong  con- 
struction, with  a pad  of  thick  felt  placed  behind  the  plate 
to  ensure  perfect  contact. 

After  the  exposure  the  plate  is  developed  in  a zinc 
dish,  with  French  or  Neustadt  oil  of  turpentine.  De- 
velopment is  rapid,  and  usually  takes  from  one  to  two 
minutes.  In  developing  over-printed  metal  plates,  an  ad- 
dition of  Russian  turpentine  is  of  great  assistance. 

After  development  the  plate  is  well  washed  and 
whirled  to  free  it  from  water,  and  it  is  then  dried  in 
the  sun  for  about  a quarter  of  an  hour. 

It  is  then  etched  in  a one  per  cent,  solution  of  nitric 
acid;  leave  in  the  bath  for  about  one  minute,  well  wash 
with  plenty  of  water,  drain,  gum  up,  and  dry  quickly. 

The  plate  is  allowed  to  stand  for  fifteen  minutes, 
and  then  the  gum  is  washed  off  and  the  plate  is  inked  up 
with  a soft  ink.  If  the  asphalt  design  does  not  take  the  ink 
freely,  resort  must  be  made  to  the  rubbing-up  rag  charged 
with  the  ink  and  & little  grease  (such  as  palm  oil)  if 
necessary. 

When  inked-in  satisfactorily,  wash  the  plate  with 
water,  dry  quickly,  and  dust  over  with  French  chalk.  The 
plate  is  then  etched  with  the  usual  etching  solutions, 
gummed  up,  and  dried. 


Ph  oto-Lithograp  hy 


143 


It  can  then  be  washed  out  with  oil  of  turpentine — 
without  removing’  the  gum  coating — inked  in  solid,  and 
rolled  until  clear  by  adding  a few  drops  of  water;  then 
gum  up  and  dry. 

Allow  the  plate  to  rest  for  fully  an  hour,  so  as  to 
allow  the  work  to  become  set  upon  the  metal.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  the  plate  is  ready  for  printing. 

If  the  plate  is  not  accurately  treated,  it  will  scum  in 
the  rolling-up,  and  give  dirty  impressions.  When  such 
is  the  case,  roll  up  the  design,  dry,  French  chalk,  and 
etch  with  a weak  solution  of  acetic  acid;  then  rinse  well. 

In  printing  from  machine  it  is  advantageous  to  add 
a small  quantity  of  glycerine  to  the  damping  water. 

When  it  is  found  necessary  to  make  alterations  or 
additions  to  metal  plates  already  in  use,  they  should 
be  well  rolled-up  and  French-chalked.  If  any  parts  of 
the  design  are  to  be  erased,  wash  out  those  parts  with 
turpentine  or  benzine.  Wipe  perfectly  dry  and  apply  a 
small  quantity  of  caustic  soda  solution  to  the  plate  by  the 
aid  of  a camel-hair  brush.  When  it  is  apparent  that  all 
trace  of  grease  is  removed,  wash  the  plate,  and  then  re- 
peat the  operation  to  make  sure  of  its  cleanliness. 

After  this,  run  over  the  plate  a solution  of  citric 
acid,  wash  well  with  plenty  of  water,  and  dry  quickly. 
It  is  then  ready  for  the  new  work  to  be  transferred 
or  drawn  upon  it.  After  the  alterations  are  completed, 
gum  up  the  plate  thoroughly,  fan  dry,  and  proceed  as 
before  described. 

Still  another  process  that  may  be  used  for  photo- 
graphing direct  on  the  plate  or  stone  embraces  the  prin- 
cipal of  printing  on  to  light-sensitive  asphalt  or  an  or- 


144 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


ganic  substance  in  combination  with  a bichromate  salt. 
This  light-sensitive  asphalt,  or  so-called  Syrian  asphalt, 
which  is  prepared  for  photo-lithographic  purposes,  can 
be  obtained  from  various  firms  who  deal  in  photographic 
goods.  Only  that  part  of  the  asphalt  is  sensitive  for 
photo-lithographic  work  which  does  not  dissolve  in  ether. 
The  insensitive  part  must,  therefore,  be  separated  out, 
which  is  done  by  finely  powdering  the  asphalt,  sifting  it 
through  a fine  sieve,  then  treating  it  with  ether.  All 
that  is  soluble  in  ether  goes  into  solution;  the  marc 
which  is  not  soluble  in  ether  is  then  dissolved  in  benzole 
and  used  as  wanted. 

Professor  Husnik  has  improved  this  process  insofar 
that  he  does  not  dissolve  the  asphalt  powder  in  ether, 
as,  according  to  his  view,  a complete  solution  of  all  the 
insensitive  portion  is  not  attained  by  this  process,  but 
he  dissolves  coarse  asphalt  powder  completely  in  rectified 
spirit  of  turpentine  to  the  consistence  of  a moderately 
thick  syrupy  mass,  until  no  hard  particles  or  a residue 
are  contained  in  the  solution.  To  this  viscous  asphalt 
solution  a plentiful  quantity  of  ether  is  added  gradually, 
and  with  constant  stirring;  and  a large  bottle  should  be 
used  for  this  purpose.  After  a sufficient  quantity  of  ether 
has  been  added  a pitch  like  deposit  separates  out  at  the 
bottom.  In  order  to  test  whether  there  is  still  any  light 
sensitive  asphalt  in  the  supernatant  liquor  a small  quan- 
tity is  poured  into  a glass  and  mixed  with  ether,  when 
if  a precipicate  ensues  more  ether  must  be  added  to  the 
large  bottle.  After  standing  for  about  twenty-four  hours 
the  ether  contains  all  soluble  insensitive  constituents  of 
the  asphalt,  the  pitch-like  residue  in  the  bottle,  after  pour- 


Photo-Lithography 


145 


ing  off  the  solution  is  again  treated  with  ether, A so  that  all 
turpentine  is  extracted  and  any  stray  and  sensitive  par- 
ticles are  dissolved.  The  pitchy  residue  is  now  removed 
from  the  bottle  and  allowed  to  stand  in  a porcelain  dish 
in  a warm  place,  with  frequent  stirring,  till  it  is  quite  free 
from  ether,  and  has  formed  a hard,  brittle,  black  shining 
substance,  which  can  be  easily  broken  up  into  powder 
with  the  hand.  This  product  is  now  the  light-sensitive 
asphalt,  which  is  dissolved  for  use.  in  anhydrous  benzole. 
As  benzole  is  only  to  be  obtained  anhydrous  with  dif- 
ficulty, some  chloroform  is  added  to  the  solution  in  or- 
der to  prevent  the  running  together  in  drying,  whence 
the  film  would  become  unequal  and  patchy.  The  coating 
of  the  plate  or  stone  with  the  asphalt  film  is  very  sim- 
ple; it  should  be  placed  horizontal,  then  whirled  rapidly 
on  a whirler.  The  picture  is  developed  with  turpentine 
in  following  out  this  process. 

Valenta  recommends  for  photo-lithography  an  as- 
phalt which  has  been  sulphurized  by  the  wet  process,  as 
it  possesses,  he  says,  a considerably  higher  light-sensi- 
tiveness than  that  which  is  not  sulphurized.  This  process 
is  as  follows:  ioo  g.  of  raw  Syrian  asphalt  is  boiled  in  a 
retort  with  an  equal  quantity  of  raw  pseudo-cumene 
which  has  the  formula  C6H3(CH3)3,  and  a boiling  point 
of  about  170  C.,  with  12  g.  of  flowers  of  sulphur,  which 
should  have'  been  previously  dissolved  in  the  pseudo- 
cumene. When  after  about  three  or  four  hours  boil- 
ing the  evolution  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  has  ceased, 
the  pseudo-cumene  is  distilled  off  and  the  black  pitchy 
residue  dissolved  in  benzole  in  the  proportion  of  four  to 
one  hundred  and  used  for  the  preparation  for  the  plate 


146 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


or  stone.  The  sulphurized  asphalt  prepared  according 
to  this  method  is  almost  insoluble  in  ether,  but  dissolves 
fairly  readily  in  benzole,  toluene,  xylene,  cumene  and 
turpentine,  and  is  very  sensitive  to  light.  Good  prints 
are  said  to  be  obtained  from  this  scheme  in  bad,  cloudy 
weather.  For  developing  the  asphalt  image  rectified  oil 
of  turpentine  free  from  acid  is  used  and  it  may  be  ac- 
celerated by  adding  Hungarian  or  Russian  turpentine 
mixed  with  ligrion,  benzine  or  wool  oil.  There  should 
be  no  rubbing  with  cotton  wool,  etc.,  in  using  this  pro- 
cess. 

Metal  plates  are  best  developed  in  a deep  dish,  while 
with  the  stone  a wax  margin  should  go  round  the  draw- 
ing. After  the  development  the  plate  should  be  well 
washed  under  a stream  of  water  and  before  gumming 
the  plate  should  be  exposed  for  some  time  to  light  as 
this  makes  the  ground  more  resistant  to  etching. 

In  coating  the  plate  or  stone  with  one  of  the  above 
solutions  it  should  be  spread  thinly  and  allowed  to  flow 
over  the  surface  so  as  not  to  form  unequally  covered 
patches.  The  subsequent  manipulations  should  be  con- 
ducted in  the  dark. 

Metal  plates  for  deep  etching  must  be  well  grained 
and  polished  and  ought  not  to  repel  water.  The  plate  is, 
after  development,  well  washed,  then  allowed  to  dry, 
treated  with  thin  gum  solution,  then  with  etching  solu- 
tion of  tincture  of  galls  or  gallic  acid  and  phosphoric  acid 
and  inked  up. 

Prints  on  metal  plates  for  deep  etching  are  gummed 
after  development  and,  if  the  asphalt  film  is  perfect,  with- 
out rubbing  up  with  a pad,  which  thickens  the  drawing. 


Photo-Lithography 


147 


It  should  be  etched  for  some  minutes  in  very  dilute  nitric 
acid. 

Many  lithographers  are  accustomed,  and  indeed,  it 
is  necessary  with  some  transfers,  to  rub  the  prints  up 
with  greasy  ink.  This  process  is  as  follows:  Greasy 
transfer  ink  is  diluted  with  some  turpentine,  and  after 
the  stone  or  plate  has  been  gummed  and  allowed  to  dry 
and  then  washed,  the  drawing  is  wiped  over  with  a 
soft  pad  saturated  with  the  dilute  ink  when  the  ink  ad- 
heres to  the  drawing,  which  strengthens  it.  If  great  care 
is  not  taken  in  this  process  it  will  also  thicken  the  work. 

With  asphalt  prints  this  method  is  absolutely  un- 
necessary and  for  other  direct  prints,  as  well  also  as 
for  good  chromated  gelatine  prints,  this  practice  is  use- 
less. The  exposed  asphalt  combines  so  intimately  with 
the  plate  that  strengthening  with  greasy  ink  is  quite 
superfluous;  is,  indeed,  absolutely  purposeless,  as  the  ink 
can  neither  penetrate  the  hard  asphalt  film  nor  combine 
with  it.  The  film  of  asphalt  alone  is  so  resistant  to  every 
etching  solution  that  it  is  for  this  reason  entirely  useless 
to  strengthen  it. 

Besides  the  asphalt,  other  mixtures  of  other  light- 
sensitive  substances  may  be  used  for  direct  printing,  and 
these  are  mostly  organic  substances  in  combination  with 
a chromium  salt,  and  possess  also  a greater  sensitive- 
ness to  light  than  asphalt. 

In  making  half-tones  for  the  offset  press  an  entirely 
different  method  is  adopted  from  the  same  kind  of  a 
plate  for  the  type  press.  In  fact  such  fine  work  is  being 
done  from  half-tones  on  the  offset  press  that  some  photo- 
engravers are  beginning  to  make  plates  especially  for 


148 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


that  process.  This  is  done  by  working  direct,  thereby 
avoiding  the  necessity  of  reversing  the  transfers. 

The  photo-engraver,  in  making  a half-tone  plate  for 
the  type  printer,  reverses  it  in  the  process  of  preparation 
by  stripping  the  film  from  the  plate  of  the  camera,  turn- 
ing it  over  and  laying  it  face  down,  causing  the  letter- 
ing to  come  out  on  the  plate  reversed  and  when  it  comes 
out  on  the  printed  sheet,  it  of  course,  appears  properly. 
In  making  a plate  for  the  offset  press  this  reversing  pro- 
cess is  omitted,  the  reversing  being  done  naturally  when 
the  transferrer  puts  down  the  transfer  on  the  metal  plate. 

A capable  transferrer  need  have  no  trouble  if  he 
will  be  particular  to  use  none  but  first-class  transfer  paper 
in  the  work  of  reversing.  Poor,  old  transfer  paper  causes 
more  trouble  in  the  shop  where  the  offset  press  is  used 
than  any  other  thing  which  enters  into  the  work.  In 
case  he  is  called  upon  to  make  a photo-lithographic  trans- 
fer the  transferrer  should  remember  that  this  transfer 
paper  is  a specific  article  in  every  respect,  the  coating 
of  which  consists  of  a gelatinous  emulsion,  which  can 
be  readily  sensitized,  and  upon  which  a photographic 
image  can  be  developed.  A bichromated,  gelatine  paper 
can  be  obtained  by  coating  a hard  writing  paper  of  me- 
dium thickness  with  a gelatinous  solution  consisting  of 
one  ounce  of  gelatine  and  one  ounce  of  water,  and  after- 
wards sensitized  with  bichromate  of  potassium.  It  is 
better  to  use  the  commercial  varieties  of  paper  and  sen- 
sitize it  as  required.  The  sensitizing  solution  can  be 
prepared  by  dissolving  one  ounce  of  bichromate  of  potas- 
sium in  20  fluid  ounces  of  water.  Add  to  this  sufficient 
ammonia  to  give  it  a bright  orange  color.  Keep  this  so- 


Photo-Lithography 


149 


lution  in  a temperature  of  about  60  degrees  Fahr.,  and 
float  the  paper  on  it  for  about  one  minute.  Pin  or  clip 
the  paper  to  a board  or  squeeze  it  to  a glass  and  dry  in 
a dark  room. 

Correct  exposure  and  sufficient  illumination  of  the 
copy  are  always  important  factors  in  photographic  re- 
productions of  any  kind,  but  they  are  of  infinitely  greater 
importance  when  applied  to  photo-process  reproduction. 
One  is,  to  a certain  extent,  dependent  upon  the  other. 
The  former  must  of  necessity  be  controlled  by  the  latter ; 
yet  no  amount  of  exposure  will  compensate  for  defective 
illumination.  Where  artificial  light  is  employed  the  ad- 
vantage of  using  two  lights  is  obviously  great.  Apart 
from  the  greater  brilliancy  and  intensity  of  the  light 
the  illumination  of  the  copy  is  more  evenly  distributed. 
In  scraper-board  copies  no  shadows  are  thrown  from 
the  embossed  dots  or  lines,  and  the  granular  texture  of 
grained  papers  is  entirely  eliminated. 

The  original  for  reproduction  must  be  on  the  same 
optical  plane  as  the  sensitive  plate  in  the  camera ; that  is, 
they  must  be  on  the  same  parallel. 

One  of  the  latest  inventions  calculated  to  improve 
photo-lithography  is  a French  process  by  which  the 
inventor  affirms  that  he  can  give  results  which  are  per- 
fect as  to  gradation  of  tint  and  fineness  of  modeling, 
reproducing  with  the  greatest  fidelity  all  the  detail  and 
tone  of  the  photographic  negative.  The  surface  of  the 
stone  or  plate  is  first  finally  grained  by  the  methods  ordi- 
narily employed  in  lithography,  and  it  is  important  to 
obtain  a grain  of  absolute  uniformity  and  regularity. 
After  the  graining  there  is  a process  of  cleaning  up  by 


150 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


means  of  a weak  solution  of  nitric  acid,  and  the  sur- 
face is  then  rapidly  dried.  It  is  then  slightly  warmed, 
and  the  surface  thinly  covered  with  a preliminary  coat- 
ing of  gelatine,  the  stone  or  plate  being  then  maintained 
at  a temperature  of  forty  degrees  centigrade,  or  one 
hundred  and  four  degrees  Fahrenheit,  until  completely 
dry.  A solution  of  albumen,  twenty  parts,  saccharic  acid, 
ten  parts,  to  water  two  hundred  parts,  is  then  applied 
over  the  substratum  of  gelatine  and  dried.  Two  other 
solutions  are  then  prepared,  first  chrysaniline,  2 grammes, 
chloride  of  zinc  50  grammes  and  water  100  c.c.  The 
second  solution  is  made  up  of  bichromate  of  potash  14 
grammes,  bichromate  of  ammonia  30  grammes  to  water 
1,000  c.c.  For  use  in  mixture  equal  parts  of  the  two 
solutions  is  taken,  and  this  is  flowed  over  the  stone  or 
plate,  which  is  then  raised  to  a vertical  position  to  allow 
the  excess  of  the  solution  to  drain  off.  When  the  coat-  1 
ing  is  dry,  the  exposure  is  made  under  a photographic 
negative;  in  a good  light  of  normal  intensity  the  ex- 
posure varies  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes.  A special 
ink  is  made  for  rolling  up,  consisting  of  convenient  pro- 
portions of  lampblack,  Venice  turpentine,  and  black  writ- 
ing ink,  mixed  while  made  hot,  and  to  which  is  also 
added  a paste  composed  of  bitumen  and  resin  powdered 
very  fine,  and  beef  fat.  This  ink  is  well  distributed  with 
a hard  roller,  and  the  surface  of  the  stone  or  plate  well 
rolled  with  it  all  over.  The  image  is  developed  by  pass- 
ing very  lightly  over  the  surface  a sponge  saturated  with 
water.  When  the  print  has  been  developed  clean,  the 
stone  or  plate  is  then  well  gummed  and  dried.  The  sur- 
face is  sponged  over  to  remove  the  gum,  the  ink  cleaned 


Photo-Lithography 


151 


oft  with  turpentine,  and  the  work  is  then  etched  with 
a weak  solution  of  nitric  acid  for  removing  the  sensitive 
film.  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  with  this  process  the 
photographic  image  is  applied  direct,  the  coating  which 
has  served  for  sensitizing  being  destroyed  by  the  appli- 
cation of  nitric  acid  before  the  last  inking.  The  method 
is  said  to  be  excellent  for  the  perfect  reproduction  on 
stone  and  metal  of  photographs  from  nature,  pen  and 
ink  designs,  water  colors,  etchings,  etc.,  and  can  be  ap- 
plied with  success  to  three  or  four-color  work. 

The  most  convenient  method  for  a lithographer  work- 
ing on  stone  to  follow  to  convert  a positive  printing 
image  into  a negative  is  the  following:  A good  stone  is 
first  ground  in  the  ordinary  way  and  then  the  surface 
rubbed  with  a pad  and  oxalic  solution  till  it  has  a high 
gloss  or  polish.  On  to  this  stone  is  then  transferred 
sharp  impression  in  a non-greasy  ink  from  the  positive 
printing  image.  According  to  the  destination  of  the  stone 
for  large  or  small  editions  one  of  two  processes  may  be 
adopted.  If  a thousand  or  more  pulls  are  required  from 
the  stone  the  transfer  may  be  dusted  with  resin  powder, 
and  this  melted  with  the  burning,  heating,  or  ether  pro- 
cess and  the  drawing  etched  in  relief  with  8 to  io  nitric 
acid  and  gum.  Then  the  stone  may  be  well  washed  with 
water  and  the  acid  removed  with  one  to  two  per  cent, 
acetic  acid.  For  small  runs  the  etching  is  omitted 
and  the  stone  treated  with  ascetic  acid.  In  both  cases 
the  stone  should  be  well  washed,  dried,  and  then  coated 
with  dissolved  lithographic  tusche  or  autographic  ink. 
The  greasy  substances  of  these  materials  penetrate  into 
the  surface  of  the  stone  that  is  laid  bare,  and  firmly 


152 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


adhere.  When  the  tusche  or  ink  is  completely  dry  the 
stone  is  washed  with  turpentine,  inked  up,  and  one  now 
has  a negative  image  from  the  subject  in  question  which 
shows  all  the  original  printing  places  in  white  and  all 
white  places  black. 

The  facts  contained  in  the  foregoing  are  all  impor- 
tant factors  in  photo-lithography,  and  their  importance 
and  influence  upon  the  reproduction  of  originals  can 
scarcely  be  overestimated. 


1 


Solutions,  Formulas  and  Useful 
Information  Epitomized 


ETCHING  and  other  solutions  used  in  metal  plate 
printing  are  supplied  by  those  who  manufacture 
the  various  plates,  and  it  is  well  to  use  such,  and  follow 
out  the  directions  given  by  the  manufacturers.  It  is 
only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  those  who  have  passed 
through  the  experimental  stages  should  be  able  to  give 
the  best  means  to  attain  the  desired  end.  After  some 
experience  in  working  some  modifications  of  the  ap- 
pended recipes  will  very  likely  be  found  to  answer  as 
well,  if  not  better,  than  attempting  to  carry  out  literally 
the  directions  given;  careful  observation  and  practice 
will  greatly  assist  the  printer  in  these  matters. 

There  are  various  solutions  necessary  for  the  proper 
working  of  metal  plates.  They  are  not  of  a complex 
nature,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  imperative  that  they 
should  be  carefully  attended  to,  if  successful  printing 
from  these  plates  is  to  be  obtained.  For  those  who  wish 
to  prepare  their  own  plates  the  following  formulas  are 
given.  When  the  plate  has  been  roughened  and  attains  a 
smooth,  even  grain,  the  following  solution  is  prepared: 
Concentrated  solution  of  alum,  20  parts;  phosphoric 
acid,  2 parts,  and  20  parts  of  water ; or  alum  solution,  10 

153 


154 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


parts,  gallic  acid,  15  parts;  nitric  acid,  2 parts  to  30  parts 
of  water. 

After  the  transfer  the  plate  is  gummed  and  then 
etched  with  an  etching  solution  consisting  of  10  parts  of 
gallic  acid,  2 parts  of  phosphoric  acid,  10  parts  of  gum 
solution,  to  30  parts  of  water;  this  being  allowed  to  act 
for  30  or  40  seconds.  The  photographic-lithographer  will 
frequently  require  the  lithographic  Tusche  for  additions 
or  for  corrections.  The  Tusche  must  be  tolerably  brittle 
and  dissolve  in  distilled  water  and  flow  fine  and  clean 
from  the  pen.  These  ingredients  should  be  melted  to- 
gether by  boiling : 2 parts  of  yellow  wax,  2 parts  of  mut- 
ton tallow,  6 parts  of  Marseilles  soap,  3 parts  of  shel- 
lac, and  V2  part  of  lampblack. 

A good  autographic  ink  which  draws  in  brown  may 
be  obtained  from  the  following  formula:  to  parts  of 

Marseilles  soap,  10  parts  of  tallow,  12  parts  of  shellac, 
12  parts  of  yellow  wax,  5 parts  of  mastic,  4 parts  of 
asphalt,  3 parts  of  vinesoot,  to  125  parts  of  water.  Origi- 
nals prepared  with  this  ink  transfer  as  well  immediately 
as  after  several  months,  and  ordinary  well-sized  writing 
paper  can  be  used  for  drawing  or  writing  on. 

Fatty  crayon  used  by  photo-litho  work  is  composed 
of : 30  parts  of  wax,  24  parts  of  Marseilles  soap,  4 parts  of 
tallow,  1 part  of  shellac,  and  6 parts  of  lampblack,  while 
lean  crayon  consists  of  12  parts  wax,  8 parts  Marseilles 
soap,  2 parts  tallow,  10  parts  shellac,  and  4 parts  lamp- 
black. 

Any  good  transfer  ink  can  be  used  for  a developing 
ink,  as  this  is  applied  with  a roller.  It  usually  consists 
of  equal  parts  of  tallow,  wax,  soap,  some  resin,  and  as 


Solutions,  Formulas,  Etc. 


155 


much  lithographing  ink  as  all  the  other  ingredients  put 
together. 

Thin  developing  inks  can  be  prepared  by  diluting 
good  transfer  ink  with  equal  quantities  of  wax,  benzine 
and  turpentine. 

The  following  formulas  are  given  for  etching  or 
desensitizing  solutions:  Original  etching  solution,  12 

parts  gum  solution  and  1 part,  20  per  cent,  phosphoric 
acid.  This  is  a weak  etching  mixture,  and  a few  drops 
of  red  ink  should  be  added  to  color  it,  so  that  it  may  be 
easily  distinguishable  from  the  stronger  solution. 

A Transfer  Etching  Solution:  8 parts  gum  solution 
and  1 part,  20  per  cent,  phosphoric  acid. 

Both  of  the  above  formulas  should  be  prepared  two 
or  three  days  before  they  are  required,  and  well  shaken 
or  mixed  before  using. 

An  Aluminum  Counter  Etching  Solution : Add 

crystallized  oxalic  acid  to  a pint  of  warm  water  till  a 
saturated  solution  is  obtained;  that  is,  until  the  crystals 
have  dissolved.  Then  mix  4 parts  of  this  acid  with  96 
parts  of  distilled  water. 

A good  cleaning  preparation  may  be  obtained  by  pul- 
verizing finely  4 parts  of  crystallized  oxalic  acid  and  4 
parts  Terra  di  Siena,  and  dissolve  in  water.  Apply  with 
quill  or  glass  hair  pencil.  Concentrated  sulphuric  acid 
may  also  be  used  as  a cleaning  preparation. 

An  Acid  Bath,  consisting  of  1 part  nitric  acid,  45 
per  cent,  (must  be  free  from  chlorine)  and  three  parts 
water,  is  very  good;  or  the  following  may  be  utilized  as 
a substitute:  3 parts  nitric  acid,  45  per  cent,  (must  be 

free  from  chlorine),  5 parts  fluorsilicic  acid,  and  42  parts 
water. 


156 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


As  a washing-out  fluid,  melt  over  a moderate  fire 
these  ingredients:  io  ounces  of  yellow  wax,  14  ounces 

of  Venetian  turpentine,  4 ounces  of  tar,  and  18  ounces 
of  the  best  black  ink.  When  the  whole  is  melted  and  in 
a liquid  state,  add,  while  stirring,  36  ounces  of  pulverized 
asphalt,  dissolved  in  1 pint  of  Benzoline.  The  mixture 
is  then  diluted  with  10  pints  of  turps  and  is  then  ready 
for  use.  For  a smaller  quantity  than  the  above  recipe, 
the  proportions  may  be  halved  or  quartered. 

The  following  recipe  for  the  same  liquid  is  given  by 
another  expert:  Dissolve  1 ounce  of  wax,  1 ounce  of 

Stearine,  2 ounces  of  asphalt,  1 tablespoonful  o'f  Tere- 
bene,  \]/2  pints  of  turpentine,  and  y2  ounce  of  re-trans- 
fer ink. 

The  reader  will  notice  that  in  the  recipes  for  the 
washing-out  fluid  there  are  two  distinct  classes  of  ingre- 
dients. First,  the  grease  solvents;  secondly,  the  greasy 
bodies  which  do  not  evaporate,  but  will,  with  the  aid  of 
the  solvents,  be  spread  over  the  work,  which  thus  re- 
ceives a coating  of  greasy  matter  which  strengthens  the 
transfer,  and  enables  it  to  take  on  more  readily  the  ink 
for  further  preparation,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  dry 
gum  still  remaining  protects  the  other  parts  of  the  plate, 
so  that  they  do  not  receive  the  grease  from  the  solution. 

An  affinitising  bath  with  the  following  constituents 
is  recommended:  6 ounces  of  nitric  acid,  y2  pound  of 

powdered  alum,  to  a gallon  of  water.  The  alum  is  best 
dissolved  in  warm  water. 

To  etch  after  the  drawing  has  been  laid  down  this 
solution  is  suggested:  Equal  parts  of  ammonium  silica- 
fluoride  and  ammonium  nitrate. 


Solutions,  Formulas,  Etc. 


157 


Another  good  metal  plate  etching  solution  is : 


Nut  gall  solution io  ounces 

Gum  arabic  solution 20  ounces 

Phosphoric  acid . % ounce 

Nitric  acid J4  ounce 


The  strength  of  this  preparation  can  be  altered  to 
suit  the  plate. 

The  best  wash-out  fluid  for  the  transferer  is  said  to 
be  the  following  formula : 


Asphaltum  powder  1 pound 

Beeswax % pound 

Tallow pound 

Turps 5 pints 

Benzole 1 pint 

Oil  of  tar pint 

Lavender  oil . 1 ounce 


This  liquid  solvent  when  sprinkled  on  the  roller  soft- 
ens the  black  ink,  and  the  effect  is  to  render  a less  adhe- 
sive substance,  making  it  more  readily  imparted  to  the 
greasy  transfer  image. 

Taken  altogether,  the  very  best  etch  for  zinc 
plates  so  far  discovered  is  a solution  made  up  as  fol- 
lows: Nitrate  of  Ammonium,  21  parts;  Bi-Phosphate 
of  Ammonium,  20  parts;  Gum  arabic,  200  parts,  and 
water,  750  parts. 

Lithographic  printing  inks  are  generally  stiff  and 
strong  in  body  when  received  from  the  makers  and 
require  to  be  reduced  before  they  are  used  for  printing 
purposes.  The  medium  of  reducing  them  is  principally 
varnish,  which  is  used  in  several  degrees  of  consistency. 
It  is  prepared  in  various  ways,  but  for  lithographic  work 


158  Metal  Plate  Printing 

that  obtained  from  the  best  linseed  oil  alone  gives  excel- 
lent results. 

There  are  various  kinds  of  gums,  gum-resins  and 
resins,  all  of  which  are  the  products  of  different  trees. 
To  the  eye  some  of  these  resemble  each  other  so  closely 
that  it  might  be  difficult  to  tell  the  one  from  the  other. 
There  is,  however,  this  remarkable  difference  in  charac- 
ter that  the  gums  proper  are  all  soluble  in  water  and 
insoluble  in  spirits;  while  the  resins  proper  possess  ex- 
actly the  opposite  quality,  being  soluble  in  spirits  and 
insoluble  in  water.  These  two  opposite  properties  are 
invaluable  in  the  lithographic  process.  The  gum  used 
for  lithographic  purposes  should  be  pure  gum  arabic, 
sold,  it  may  be,  under  different  names  which  generally 
indicate  the  district  from  whence  it  came. 

A gum  solution  should  not  be  allowed  to  get  sour, 
which  it  will  do  in  eight  or  ten  days  in  winter  and  half 
that  time  in  summer.  There  are  certain  preventives, 
such  as  the  addition  of  a little  camphor,  carbolic  acid,  or 
the  essence  of  cinnamon;  and  there  is  a remedy  for  the 
sourness  when  it  has  taken  place,  in  the  addition  of  a lit  - 
tle powdered  chalk.  But  by  far  the  safest  plan  is  not  to 
allow  it  to  get  sour  at  all.  This  is  easily  effected  by  dis- 
solving only  a few  days’  supply  at  a time  and  keeping 
the  sponges  and  pot  perfectly  clean.  The  action  of  sour 
gum  is  most  detrimental  to  good  work. 

To  ascertain  the  good  quality  of  printing  ink  you 
have  merely  to  take  a sheet  of  unsized  paper  and  spread 
a little  of  the  ink  to  be  tested  upon  the  surface.  Some 
hours  later  the  ink  will  be  surrounded  with  an  edge 
formed  by  the  varnish.  When  the  ink  is  good  this  edge 


Solutions , Formulas , Etc. 


159 


is  invariably  white,  and,  on  the  contrary,  when  bad  it  is 
of  a more  or  less  deep  yellow  color.  Such  ink  could  not 
give  satisfactory  results  in  printing.  This  yellowness  is 
sometimes  due  to  defective  boiling  of  the  varnish  or  im- 
perfect calcination  of  the  black  employed.  These  re- 
marks do  not  apply  to  cheap,  common  inks,  but  to  inks 
of  some  value. 

Good  ink  should  be  black,  brilliant,  unctuous,  too 
thick  rather  than  too  thin,  and  should  dry  rapidly.  The 
finer  an  ink  is  the  better  its  siccative  properties.  Petro- 
leum should  never  be  added  to  ink  to  make  it  less  strong. 
The  degree  of  strength  or  excessive  siccativeness  can  be 
reduced  by  mixing  the  varnish  with  the  ink. 

Good  recipes  for  paste  and  glue,  which  are  the  result 
of  experience,  are  given  below:  Dissolve  half  an  ounce 
of  the  purest  white  glue  in  half  a pint  of  rain  water  and 
add  four  ounces  of  the  lumps  of  gum  arabic.  This  is  a 
good  glue  for  pressmen  and  for  general  purposes.  To 
make  it  pliable  for  setting  gauges  and  for  bookbinding, 
where  a quick-drying  glue  would  not  answer,  add  a little 
glycerine.  You  can  whiten  common  glue  by  adding 
oxalic  acid. 

A fire  and  water  proof  glue  is  a handful  of  quick- 
lime mixed  with  four  ounces  of  linseed  oil,  thoroughly 
mixed,  boiled  to  the  consistency  of  syrup  and  spread 
on  thin  plates  in  the  shade.  It  hardens  and  is  then  dis- 
solved like  common  glue,  when  it  is  ready  for  use. 

A fire,  water,  weather,  acid,  and  rust-proof  cement 
that  can  be  used  to  fasten  nearly  every  imaginable  sub- 
stance—metal,  glass,  woods,  etc. — is  litharge  and  glycer- 
ine mixed  to  the  consistency  of  thick  cream.  The  mended 
or  joined  articles  should  not  be  used  for  from  a day  to  a 


160  Metal  Plate  Printing 

week,  according  to  quantity  of  cement  used,  as  it  is  a 
slow  drier. 

A fine  paste — none  better  for  trndery  and  press 
work,  especially  for  rotary  presses — is  made  by  mixing 
good  flour  with  rain  water,  rapidly  boiling  to  a paste  and 
adding  a little  carbolic  acid,  the  best  preventive  of  sour- 
ing. Do  not  use  alum,  acetic  acid  or  borax,  as  some  do, 
for  this  purpose.  Strain  the  paste  through  a very  fine 
sieve  and  it  is  ready  for  use. 

Tusche,  or  litho  drawing  ink,  is  something  that  every 
lithographer  should  know  thoroughly.  The  main  thing  is 
that  it  should  contain  fat  and  soap ; the  first  substance  is 
put  in  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  acid,  which  must  be 
applied  to  prepare  the  clean  litho  surface  upon  which  it  is 
used;  the  second  substance  is  placed  there  to  combine 
with  the  plate  or  stone,  through  the  action  of  nitric  acid, 
into  a saponacious  material,  resulting  in  that  strong,  per- 
manent hold  which  the  work  then  obtains.  In  order  to 
fulfill  this  requirement,  the  soap  used  for  making  such 
ink  should  contain  the  greatest  amount  of  oil  in  combina- 
tion with  alkaline  bodies ; or,  in  other  words,  fatty  acids, 
and  for  this  reason  Marseilles  soap,  which  contains  nearly 
20  per  cent,  more  of  this  acid  than  the  ordinary  soap, 
is  preferred  by  some  in  making  this  ink  or  litho  Tusche. 
In  addition  to  this  there  is  wax,  or  spermacetti,  added 
also  for  their  greasy  qualities;  further  shellac,  pitch  and 
mastic,  to  help  bind  the  first-mentioned  material  together, 
and  finally,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  draw  fine  lines, 
dots,  or  close  textures  with  an  almost  colorless  fluid, 
lampblack,  in  its  finest  state  of  reduction,  is  added  simply 
to  give  color.  The  greatest  amount  of  care  should  be 
exercised  in  the  mixing,  owing  to  the  diversity  of  the 
substances  used. 


Advertising  Section 


163 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


No  Graining  or  Preparing  Required 


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Process  Plates 


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of 


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164 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.Co. 

29  Warren  Street,  New  York  328  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago 

44  High  Street,  Boston  150  N.  Fourth  Street,  Philadelphia 

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and 

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Metal  Plate  Printing 


165 


Headquarters 

for 

Stri&ly  Pure 

Burnt  Litho. 
Varnishes 

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No.  8 FERRY  STREET 
New  York,  N.  Y. 


166 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.Co. 

29  Warren  Street,  New  York  328  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago 
44  High  Street,  Boston  150  N.  Fourth  Street,  Philadelphia 

Factories,  Rutherford,  New  Jersey 


Litho.  Inks 

For  Stone,  Aluminum,  Zinc  and 
Offset  Presses 

Litho.  Stones 
Litho,  Supplies 
Bronze  Powder 


Everything  for  the  Lithographer 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


167 


POTTER 


Lithographic  Presses 

Rotary  Offset  Presses 

Rotary  Metallagraph  Presses 

(Either  for  Zinc  or  Aluminum) 

Rotary  Tin  Printing  Presses 

Flat  Bed  Litho.  Presses 


c&he  name  POTTER  on  Printing 
^Machinery  is  a Guarantee  of  Highest 
Excellence 


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PLAINFIELD,  NEW  JERSEY 

CHICAGO,  Rand  McNally  Building 
SAN  FRANCISCO,  638  Mission  Street 


168 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


1 HE  KELLOGG  OFFSET  PRESS  Equipped  with  Automatic  Feeder. 
Quickly  disconnected  and  thrown  up  for  hand  feed. 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


169 


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170 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


PhotoLith  Transfers 

POSITIVE  or  NEGATIVE 

for 

Rubber  Blanket  Offset  Press 
or  Lithographic  Stone 

OUR  transfers  are  on  thin  zinc,  are 
superior  to  paper  and  can  be 
preserved  indefinitely  and  any  number 
of  transfers  taken  from  them.  We 
make  line  transfers  from  prints  and 
pen  drawings,  and  half-tone  transfers 
from  photographs  and  wash-drawings. 

A trial  order  will  convince  you  that 
we  can  give  you  better  service  and 
value  than  can  be  obtained  elsewhere. 


GLOBE  ENGRAVING  & ELECTROTYPE  CO. 

415  DEARBORN  STREET  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


ENGRA  VERS  BY  ALL  METHODS 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


171 


The  Jaenecke 
Printing  Ink  Company 

takers  of  Fine 

Lithographic 
Letter  Press 
Lichtdruck 

Steel  and  Copper  Plate 
Tin  Printing 
Alkali  Proof 

Offset  Inks  a Specialty 

Dry  Colors  Varnishes  Compounds 
MAIN  OFFICE  AND  WORKS 

Newark,  N.  J. 

New  York  Philadelphia  Chicago  St.  Louis 


172 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


J.  H.  & G.  B.  SIEBOLD 

106,  108,  1 10  CENTRE  STREET,  NEW  YORK 
Manufacturers  of 

Siebold’s  Safety  Check  Ink 

for  Litho.  Stone  and  Rubber 
Offset  Press 

Offset  Black  and  Colored  Inks 


Heaaquarters  for 

Flint  and  Pumice  Stone 
Glass  and  China  Marbles 
Maple  and  Lignum  Vitae  Balls 
for  Metal  Plate  Graining 


Samples  and  Quotations  Furnished  on  Application 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


173 


PARKER  PROCESS 
PREPARED  PLATES 

and 

Solutions  for  Treating 

ZING 

AND 

ALUMINUM 

For  Lithographic  Purposes 


WRITE  FOR  PARTICULARS 


Parker  Process  Company 

536-538  Pearl  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

385  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago,  III. 

230  St.  Clair  Avenue,  N.E.,  Cleveland,  Ohio 
23  Jarvis  Street,  Toronto,  Canada 


174 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


Roberts  & Porter 

Manufacturers 

of 

Lithographic 

Rollers 

Flannel  Molleton 
Moleskin 


Molleton  especially  adapted  to  the 
Offset  Presses 

Perfect  Rollers  for  Offset  Presses 


334  DEARBORN  STREET 

CHICAGO 


14  Reade  Street,  New  York 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


175 


Robert  Mayer  & Co. 

Lithographers’  Supplies  and 
Materials 

19  EAST  2 1st  STREET 
NEW  YORK 

RUBBER  BLANKETS  for 

OFFSET  PRESSES 

Best  in  the  World 

SPECIAL  INKS  for 

OFFSET  PRESSES 

Send  for  Samples  and  Prices 
Sole  Agents  for 

white  Columbia  Transfer  Paper 

Especially  Adapted  for  Transferring  and 
Re-transferring  for 

OFFSET  PRESSES 


Branches:  CHICAGO  SAN  FRANCISCO 


176 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


We  Never  Lose  an  Order 

for  a HARRIS  OFFSET  PRESS 

except  on  account  of  price.  Our  presses 
cost  more  than  those  of  any  other  make, 
yet  we  have  sold  more  offset  presses  than 
all  other  builders  combined.  Why? 
Because  you  buy  presses  for  output. 

We  have  customers  with  5,  4,  3 and  2 
Harris  Offsets.  Can  any  other  builder 
say  that — truthfully? 

The  reason  we  get  more  for  our  presses 
and  sell  more  is  that  the  wise  buyer 
knows  the  man  with  the  Harris  can  get 
any  job  he  goes  after  where  price  is  a 
factor.  The  man  without  a Harris  gets 
merely  what  the  Harris  man  chooses  to 
let  him  have,  or  is  ignorant  of. 

If  you  are  going  to  invest  the  price  of  a 
home  in  an  offset  press,  for  goodness’ 
sake  get  one  that  will  enable  you  to  dic- 
tate, instead  of  trailing  behind  with  a 
“near  money-maker.” 

They  are  made  in  any  old  size  for  which 
you  have  the  work. 


The  Harris  Automatic  Press  Company 

Chicago,  315  Dearborn  Street  . TTT 

New  York,  1 579  Hudson  Terminal  NILES,  OHIO 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


111 


OFFSET  INKS 

READY  FOR  USE 


W7E  were  the  firft  Ink  Makers 
to  recognize  the  possibilities 
of  the  Litho  Rotary  Offset  Press, 
and  our  Inks  have  kept  in  advance 
of  the  requirements  of  Offset  Press 
Purchasers.  Don’t  lose  time  in 
manipulating  inks  in  the  old  way. 
Use  ours — from  can  to  fountain — to 
sheet. 


Sinclair  & Valentine  Co 

Main  Office  and  Factory 

605-611  West  129th  Street,  New  York 


BRANCHES 
Philadelphia  Boston 

Chicago  St.  Louis 

Cleveland  Denver 

Toronto 


ORDER 

FROM 

NEAREST 

BRANCH 


178 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


Hall  Printing  Press  Co. 

^Manufacturers  of 


ROTARY 


Offset  Lithographing  Presses 

Single  Color  Two  Color  Three  Color 


Tin  Printing  Presses 
Graining  Machines 
Transfer  Presses 

and  Iron  Beds 
of  All  Sizes 

Lithograph  Roller  Covers 

General  Office  and  Works  New  York  Sales  Office 
DUNELLEN,  N.  J.  50  CHURCH  ST. 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


179 


Offset  Press  Printing  Plates 

3 and  4 COLOR  PROCESS  ENGRAVINGS 
INTAGLIO  HALFTONES 

- - ■ • ' ' • Established  1889  

GATCHEL  & MANNING 

Designers  and  Photo- Process  Engravers 
in  One  or  More  Colors  PHILADELPHIA 


WILLIAM  GAY 

22  NEW  CHAMBERS  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

LITHOGRAPHIC  ROLLERS 

Scraper  Leather,  Flannel,  Molleton 
and  Moleskin  for  Damping  Rollers 

Gay’s  Improved  Litho.  Roller 
The  Permanent  Damping  Roller  Patented 


180 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


Trade  Directory  for  Machinery  and  Supplies 

Bronze  Powders 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Bronze  Sieves 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Bronzing  Machines  and  Dusting  Machines 
The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Coating  Machines  for  Metal 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Embossing  Machines 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Graining  Machines 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Lithographic  Handpresses 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Lithographic  Inks 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Lithographic  Ruling  Machines 
The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Lithographic  Stones 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Lithographic  Supplies 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Metal  Decorating  Presses 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 
Offset  Blankets,  Supplies  and  Inks 
The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 
Offset  Presses 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Printing  Inks 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Roughing  Machines 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Rubber  Blankets 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 
Rubber  Transfer  Cylinder  Handpresses 
The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 
Special  Machinery 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 

Tin  Litho  Presses 

The  Fuchs  & Lang  Mfg.  Co. New  York,  Chicago,  Phila.,  Boston 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


181 


Scott  Rotary  Offset  Presses 

are  used  extensively  all  over  the  country 

Scott  Stop  - Cylinder 
Lithographic  Presses 

are  acknowledged 

The  Standard  Litho.  Press 

Scott  Dired  Drive  Two 
Revolution  Presses 

are  the  Strongest  Flat  Bed  Presses  Built 

Let  us  know  your  Printing  or  Litho.  Machinery 
Requirements  for  WE  HAVE  THE  PRESS 

WALTER  SCOTT  & COMPANY 

DAVID  J.  SCOTT,  General  Manager 
Main  Office  and  Factory 

Plainfield,  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  A. 

New  York  Office,  4 1 Park  Row  Chicago  Office,  Monadnock  Block 

Cable  Address.  TValtscott , New  York  Codes  Used , ABC{Sth  Edition)  and  our  own 


182 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


CERVENY  & POTH 

High-Grade  Vignette  Engraving 

BUILDINGS  A SPECIALTY 
2863  FULLERTON  AVENUE 

Chicago 


The  National  Lithographer 

The  On/p  Lithographic  Trade  Paper 
Published  in  jdmerica 

Goes  Into  Every  Lithographic  Establishment 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada 

BEST  ADVERTISING  MEDIUM  FOR 
THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  TRADE 

Issued  on  the  1 5th  of  Each  Month 
Full  of  Live  Matter  for  Lithographers 

Subscription  Price,  $2.00  Per  Year 

Advertising  Rates  on  Application 

WARREN  C.  BROWNE 

Editor  and  Publisher 

150  NASSAU  STREET  NEW  YORK 


Metal  Plate  Printing 


183 


PARKER 

PROCESS  PLATES 

WILL  NOT  OXIDIZE 


The  result  of  over  twenty  years  experience 
in  Metal  Plate  Printing 

The  Parker  Prepared 

PLATE  is  not  a Coated  Plate 
but  a Specially  Manufactured 
Plate  for  Lithographic  Pur- 
poses. 

REQUIRES  NO  GRAINING  OR  PREPARING 
ALWAYS  READY  FOR  USE 

Write  for  Particulars 

PARKER  PROCESS  COMPANY 

536-538  Pearl  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

385  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago,  111. 

230  St.  Clair  Avenue,  N.  E.,  Cleveland,  Ohio 
23  Jarvis  Street,  Toronto,  Canada 


PRINTED  BY 

SHULTIS-DUDLEY  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK 


